Beal Aerospace is "abandoning" its plans on St. Croix, despite assurances by company officials in recent days that the company still wanted to build a rocket assembly plant and world headquarters offices on the island.
In a terse three-sentence statement to the media Friday afternoon, Wade Gates, Beal’s director of corporate affairs, said the company is "abandoning efforts to build its corporate offices and primary assembly facility on St. Croix." Beal will, he said, "continue to explore its expansion opportunities in the continental United States."
Gates said in the release that company officials would not comment further. He did not return a call from the Source Friday evening.
Earlier in the week it was reported that the State of Florida had offered the company an incentive package to locate the assembly and headquarters facility with the Spaceport Florida Authority at Cape Canaveral. The Spaceport Authority provides financing, advocacy, technical support, business incentives and facility/infrastructure development for space-related projects.
Despite the Florida offer, Gates had said, Beal planned to pursue development on St. Croix because the island is located relatively close to possible rocket launch sites in Guyana and Anguilla.
Beal's St. Croix plans suffered a setback on Dec. 15, when a Territorial Court judge ruled against an agreement between the V.I. government and Caribbean Space Technologies, a Beal affiliate, on an exchange of land that would have given the company public property on which to construct its facilities.
Judge Alphonso Andrews granted the request by Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, and other plaintiffs for a permanent injunction against the land swap that was proposed by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and approved by the 23rd Legislature on Oct. 5. The swap would have given the company 14.5 acres of public land, known as Camp Arawak, in exchange for land it owns in Estate Whim and La Grange Hill.
Caribbean Space/Beal already owns 270 acres adjacent to Camp Arawak. Company officials contended that they needed the public property for a portion of the assembly plant and a parking lot.
Gates had said the company would appeal the court decision and was starting the environmental permit process for the project.
A separate lawsuit filed by the St. Croix Environmental Association is pending.

Firearms with an expiration date of Jan., 2000, must be renewed prior to Jan. 31. Applications may be picked up at the Police Commissioner's Office.
For further information call 774-2310 or 778-2211.
Licensees are reminded to take all necessary precautions to insure that their weapons are secured. If your weapon has been lost or stolen contact Firearms Personnel.
Applications may be turned in up to 90 days prior to expiration.

Firearms licenses with an expiration date of Jan., 2000 must be renewed. Applications may be picked up at the Police Commissioner's office. For further information call 774-2310 or 778-2211.
Licensees are reminded to take all necessary precautions to insure that their weapons are secured. If your weapon has been lost or stolen contact Firearms Personnel.
Applications may be turned in up to 90 days prior to expiration.

Registration and orientation for the spring semester classes at the University of the Virgin Islands will take place on both the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses Monday, Jan. 10, through Wednesday, Jan 12. Students may register late through Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Classes begin on Thursday, Jan. 13.
For the first time, Creative Writing will be offered as an on-line course, taught by Dr. Patricia Harkins-Pierre of the Humanities Division faculty. For this first-time offering, class enrollment will be limited to residents of the territory.
The class, officially designated English 465: Selected Topics – Creative Writing, will involve the study of language and literature. Students will be challenged, through various reading and writing assignments, to become critical of their own work and that of other writers of poetry, fiction and drama. Students will be required to compose poems, short stories and a one-act play.
Those interested in taking the course via the Internet are asked to call Harkins-Pierre at 693-1357.

St. Croix campus reopens: The St. Croix campus of the University of the Virgin Islands, which had been closed for the holidays through Friday, Jan. 7, will reopen Monday, Jan.10 at 8:30 a.m.
Registration for the Spring 2000 semester will take place on both campuses from Monday, Jan. 10 through Wednesday, Jan 12. Late registration begins Wednesday, Jan. 12 and concludes Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Orientation for new and returning students will take place on both campuses Monday, Jan. 10 through Wednesday, Jan. 12.
Classes begin on Thursday, Jan. 13.
On-line creative writing class:
The University of the Virgin Islands will offer an on-line creative writing course for the Spring 2000 semester. Dr. Patricia Harkins-Pierre of UVI's Humanities Division will teach the class. For this first-time presentation, class enrollment will be limited to residents of the territory.
The class, English 465: Selected Topics – Creative Writing, will include the study of language and literature. Students will be challenged, through various reading and writing assignments, to become critical of their own work and that of other writers of poetry, fiction and drama. Part of the class requirements include the student's completion of poems, short stories and a one-act play. Interested students may call Dr. Harkins-Pierre at 693-1357.

If you don't like music videos, with techno tracks especially, think hard before heading to the Reichhold Center for the Arts for this weekend's "Cinema Sunday" offering, a German film titled Run, Lola Run. If you do (like those kinds of videos), you won't want to miss it. The story line, which critics seem to agree is only semi-important, goes like this, according to a synopsis from the Internet's Cinemachine web site:
"Tattooed, magenta-haired Berlin girl Lola has 20 minutes to hustle up a load of cash, or her boyfriend, a petty criminal, is doomed. Her life-and-death race is depicted with a kaleidoscope of visual effects — cartoons, slo-mo, 360-degree camera movements, monochrome washes, video footage. . . The film reboots twice before it ends, the quick cuts juiced by a hard-beat techno soundtrack, and the athletic Franka Potente as Lola keeps you glued to the action."
Film critic Roger Ebert sees the heroine as being "like the avatar in a video game — Lara Croft made flesh." So maybe this is a guy picture, even though its protagonist is a gal.
To flesh out the story line a bit: Lola gets a desperate telephone call from her boyfriend, Manni, a bagman in a not exactly legal business. He is supposed to deliver the day's take, amounting to 100,000 deutsche marks, to his ruthless boss in 20 minutes. Trouble is, he inadvertently left the bagful of cash on a subway train, and an addled homeless person ingenuously walked away with it. But if Manni doesn't ante up the take, he's looking at a most unhappy ending. Lola accepts the mission improbable to come up with the money, and off she runs — first to Daddy, who fortunately is a banker but unfortunately tells her to bug off, adding for good measure that he has decided to leave home and marry his mistress.
From there on, her long-limbed quest has her dodging and colliding with various obstacles, some of them inanimate objects, some of them people. The motion picture is non-stop action shot in real time. So how can a 20-minute trek take 81 minutes? Well, mainly because the heroine does it not once but thrice — each time with small differences that affect the outcome and the fate of the characters. That's what the "reboot" reference above is about. Don't read any Rashomon intimations into this cinematic adventure, however.
For Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan, Run Lola Run is a "hyperkinetic pop culture firecracker of a film." The directing and screenwriting credits go to neophyte German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, one of the three composers of the score, too. In the Los Angeles Times reviewer's opinion, "Tykwer's restless, inventive work, the most energetic from Germany in recent years, is about the playful inventiveness inherent in the medium itself."
He describes the film as "in part a High Noon with a raffish punk attitude" and as one in which "the journey is more important than the destination." For example, whenever Lola literally runs into anyone, Tykwer "edits in a quick and amusing flash-forward to that person's future life."
To CNN reviewer Paul Tatara, "all the film ultimately says is that Lola doesn't have any idea what's coming next. . . The rest is (quite intentionally) an elaborate video game disguised as a motion picture." Under Tykwer's direction, this critic says, "There's always tons of unmotivated flash to keep the viewer rattled, and the revved-up pacing doesn't give you time to wonder what the point is. . . It's Ms. Pac-Man meets Quentin Tarantino. I'll eat my dog if there isn't a Hollywood remake on our screens in the next 18 months."
But then he relents a bit, concluding that "Lola and Manni can finally be understood as no more than pieces in a game. So it's impressive how great an air of urgency and involvement this film creates around them and how thoroughly entertaining it is."
The Chicago Sun-Times' Ebert is of the opinion that this is "essentially a film about itself, a closed loop of style." He writes, "Movies about characters on the run usually involve a linear story (The Fugitive comes to mind), but this one is basically about running — and about the way that movie action sequences have a life and logic of their own. I would not want to see a sequel to the film, and at 81 minutes it isn't a second too short, but what it does, it does cheerfully, with great energy, and well."
For what it's worth, the three reviewers used three other descriptions than "magenta" for Lola's punk-hued hair. Turan referred to a "flame-haired Lola," Tatara cited her "bright orange hair," and Ebert wrote of her "bright red hair." Maybe it had to do with the quality of the prints projected.
The film is rated R for some violence and language. It's in German with English subtitles. The 35mm camera rolls at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, at the Reichhold Center. Gates open at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 and seating is unreserved. To learn more, call 693-1559.

If you don't like music videos, with techno tracks especially, think hard before heading to the Reichhold Center for the Arts for this weekend's "Cinema Sunday" offering, a German film titled Run, Lola Run. If you do (like those kinds of videos), you won't want to miss it. The story line, which critics seem to agree is only semi-important, goes like this, according to a synopsis from the Internet's Cinemachine web site:
"Tattooed, magenta-haired Berlin girl Lola has 20 minutes to hustle up a load of cash, or her boyfriend, a petty criminal, is doomed. Her life-and-death race is depicted with a kaleidoscope of visual effects — cartoons, slo-mo, 360-degree camera movements, monochrome washes, video footage. . . The film reboots twice before it ends, the quick cuts juiced by a hard-beat techno soundtrack, and the athletic Franka Potente as Lola keeps you glued to the action."
Film critic Roger Ebert sees the heroine as being "like the avatar in a video game — Lara Croft made flesh." So maybe this is a guy picture, even though its protagonist is a gal.
To flesh out the story line a bit: Lola gets a desperate telephone call from her boyfriend, Manni, a bagman in a not exactly legal business. He is supposed to deliver the day's take, amounting to 100,000 deutsche marks, to his ruthless boss in 20 minutes. Trouble is, he inadvertently left the bagful of cash on a subway train, and an addled homeless person ingenuously walked away with it. But if Manni doesn't ante up the take, he's looking at a most unhappy ending. Lola accepts the mission improbable to come up with the money, and off she runs — first to Daddy, who fortunately is a banker but unfortunately tells her to bug off, adding for good measure that he has decided to leave home and marry his mistress.
From there on, her long-limbed quest has her dodging and colliding with various obstacles, some of them inanimate objects, some of them people. The motion picture is non-stop action shot in real time. So how can a 20-minute trek take 81 minutes? Well, mainly because the heroine does it not once but thrice — each time with small differences that affect the outcome and the fate of the characters. That's what the "reboot" reference above is about. Don't read any Rashomon intimations into this cinematic adventure, however.
For Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan, Run Lola Run is a "hyperkinetic pop culture firecracker of a film." The directing and screenwriting credits go to neophyte German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, one of the three composers of the score, too. In the Los Angeles Times reviewer's opinion, "Tykwer's restless, inventive work, the most energetic from Germany in recent years, is about the playful inventiveness inherent in the medium itself."
He describes the film as "in part a High Noon with a raffish punk attitude" and as one in which "the journey is more important than the destination." For example, whenever Lola literally runs into anyone, Tykwer "edits in a quick and amusing flash-forward to that person's future life."
To CNN reviewer Paul Tatara, "all the film ultimately says is that Lola doesn't have any idea what's coming next. . . The rest is (quite intentionally) an elaborate video game disguised as a motion picture." Under Tykwer's direction, this critic says, "There's always tons of unmotivated flash to keep the viewer rattled, and the revved-up pacing doesn't give you time to wonder what the point is. . . It's Ms. Pac-Man meets Quentin Tarantino. I'll eat my dog if there isn't a Hollywood remake on our screens in the next 18 months."
But then he relents a bit, concluding that "Lola and Manni can finally be understood as no more than pieces in a game. So it's impressive how great an air of urgency and involvement this film creates around them and how thoroughly entertaining it is."
The Chicago Sun-Times' Ebert is of the opinion that this is "essentially a film about itself, a closed loop of style." He writes, "Movies about characters on the run usually involve a linear story (The Fugitive comes to mind), but this one is basically about running — and about the way that movie action sequences have a life and logic of their own. I would not want to see a sequel to the film, and at 81 minutes it isn't a second too short, but what it does, it does cheerfully, with great energy, and well."
For what it's worth, the three reviewers used three other descriptions than "magenta" for Lola's punk-hued hair. Turan referred to a "flame-haired Lola," Tatara cited her "bright orange hair," and Ebert wrote of her "bright red hair." Maybe it had to do with the quality of the prints projected.
The film is rated R for some violence and language. It's in German with English subtitles. The 35mm camera rolls at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, at the Reichhold Center. Gates open at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 and seating is unreserved. To learn more, call 693-1559.

What is he going to say? What can he say? With so many problems facing the territory right now, the Source thought it might be a good idea to see what people think the governor should zero in on Monday in his State of the Territory address. Expectations vary, but many themes remain the same.
John deJongh Jr., president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, perhaps best expressed the almost unilateral view of island businessmen.
"Private-sector growth has to be addressed," he said. "It's the only way we will get out of the situation we're in now."
DeJongh said that when the governor begins downsizing the top-heavy government, the private sector is the only place the employees will have to go.
"At the end of the day, we have no choice," he said.
Businesswoman Kris Brunt of MSI Building Supplies put it succinctly: "The only issue is to get a realistic plan to downsize the government so it can meet its payroll."
Erva Denham, president of the League of Women Voters, was caught in the midst of shopping, which didn't faze her a bit.
"I would like to see what progress is being made on the government's five-year financial recovery plan," she said. "If we are supposed to use this year as a baseline, where is the recovery team at right now? And what about reducing the size of the government? Do we have a definite plan?"
These questions have to be addressed, she said. And while they aren't the only questions, they are the most important.
On another subject intrinsic to the government's economic survival, Beverly Nicholson of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association had this to say: "Tourism, tourism, tourism."
Nicholson said we should all be "extra concerned."
"We still have no commissioner, we have no advertising to speak of, there is no long-range planning in effect that anyone knows of," she said.
Nicholson said the private sector is more than willing to help in the interim, and to offer its expertise. She said the association has a proposal on the governor's desk from GoGo Tours, the biggest tour operator in the Northeast, the island's core market. It outlines a plan for advertising and marketing the Virgin Islands that could pull the territory out of its present serious situation, she said.
The season is already here and hotel bookings for February and March are, at best, "sluggish," Nicholson said. She said the association has high hopes the governor will sign off on the GoGo proposal.
Lyn Eden, owner of Mafolie Hotel, also put economic concerns at the top of her list of priorities for the governor.
"First of all, I think tourism should be distanced away from the government," she said. "Every four years, with a new administration, everybody who finally knows what they're doing gets fired."
Eden said she thought that with tourism as a private entity, a better staff could be developed without political considerations hindering their every move.
"I don't know what we're going to do this season," she said, noting the hotel's bookings are not looking good. "I'm very worried," she said.
"If this were France, we'd be having a revolution," said Craig Kirchoff of the Sea Chest.
"I don't know where to begin," he said in considering his main worries. "For one thing, I'd like to know about the tax breaks. How come Vitelco and Tutu Park Mall have IDC benefits, and the little companies who have been on island for years don't?" Attorney Tom Bolt, speaking for the Virgin Islands Bankers Association, said he would like to see the governor address the "homeowners' opportunity act." This is a plan the bankers are working on with Sen. George E. Goodwin, which, according to Bolt, would "help expand the economy."
Another priority for Bolt is the updating of the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs all commercial transactions. The current code is 35 years old.
"It's like driving an Edsel in the space age," Bolt said.
Kathy Huttel of the St. Thomas Swimming Association lamented the lack of sports facilities for kids.
"It's not just swimming, it's all sports," she said. "The government just doesn't have the interests of the young people at heart."
She pointed out that Ivanna Eudora Kean High School still has no track field. But on a brighter note, she said the Olympic swimming pool project, which the association has been working on for years, is closer to becoming a reality.
"It's the weather now that's holding us up," she said. "The cement's ready to pour."
Lynn Falkenthal, head of the Victim's Advocate program, would like to see more action taken to defend crime victims.
"I'd like to see equal justice for the victim as well as the criminal," she said. She noted the police and justice systems do much to protect the rights of the accused, but what about the victim?
Tourism again is the topic in Frenchtown, according to Ted Luscz, owner of Hook Line & Sinker restaurant.
"Tourism, that's our only concern — without it we're sunk." Luscz said. Like others, he said he would like to know what is being done right now for the season that is already upon us.
Yacht Haven, an eyesore since Hurricane Marilyn, is on Realtor April Newland's list of concerns.
"I'd like to hear what's going to happen to the hotel and marina," she said. "Are they going to condemn it, sell it, develop it or what?" she questioned. "It's heartbreaking to see all the wonderful yachts we used to get now at all the other islands."
Also, she continued, we should advertise our Industrial Development Commission benefits to potential investors. She wondered why the governor doesn't have a point person for this job.
"I'd really like to say something positive," Newland concluded.
According to the general tenor of comments voiced, so would everybody else. And nobody mentioned potholes.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, one of the most influential members of the U.S. Senate in the area of territorial affairs, is to be the keynote speaker at the 10th annual meeting of the Friends of the V.I. National Park.
Leahy is to speak on public-private partnerships at the meeting, set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, in T'ree Lizards Restaurant at Cinnamon Bay.
The Vermont senator is the second-ranking Democrat on the interior subcommittee of the Senate's powerful Appropriations Committee, and the ranking member of the research subcommittee of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. He is a friend of both the Virgin Islands and the V.I. National Park, according to John Garrison, president of the not-for-profit Friends organization.
Garrison described the relationship between his group and the V.I. National Park as a good example of public-private partnering. Leahy will also provide an update on pending legislation "which will affect the national park in general," he said.
Friends of the National Park was formed in 1990 to help preserve and protect the park resources. Last year, the group helped raise $2.3 million and established a park endowment fund.
Also on the annual meeting agenda is a State of the Park address by V.I. National Park Supt. Russell Berry Jr. He will cover the park's strategic plans, financial status, operations and land acquisitions.
Garrison will highlight the 1999 accomplishments of the Friends of the National Park, and awards will be presented. The election of officers and four board members will be held.
For more information, call 779-4940.

The victim of Friday’s Crown Bay boating accident is being transferred to a stateside hospital in guarded condition.
Robert Johnson, 69, a resident of Water Island, suffered a fractured spine when his Blackfin boat drove across a mooring line attached to the Dutch Navy ship Van Speijk.
The Dutch vessel, on liberty call on St. Thomas, was moored at the Crown Bay cruise ship dock at the time of the accident.
Maureen Venzen, an administrator at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, said Johnson would be transferred to a Florida hospital for further treatment.
A marine enforcement unit from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, assisted by officers of the U.S. Coast Guard, responded to the emergency call after Johnson’s vessel, with a damaged control panel, sped into the Crown Bay Marina dock.
Coast Guard Lt. Chuck Barbee said Johnson’s accident was probably the result of not being able to see the mooring line because of the depth at which the Van Speijk was sitting in the water.
The lieutenant said even as rescuers were assisting Johnson and a female passenger, they saw a second vessel almost repeat the same error.
According to Barbee, the Dutch ship assigned someone to get boaters' attention to avoid further accidents.
"We directed them to hang some kind of marker so they could see it in the daytime. And they are going to light it at night as well so it shouldn’t be a problem again," Barbee said Friday afternoon.
Editor's note: See earlier story, "Water Island Man Injured in Boating Accident" for more details.