Dear Source,
I thought you would like to know that ALL teachers are receiving copies of the Temporary Restraining Order issued against AFT Local 1825, from the government of the VI and Department of Education. This is a TEN page document, issued to EVERY SINGLE TEACHER IN THE TERRITORY.
Can you imagine how much paper that used? How much toner for photocopiers? Or ink for printing? Not to mention how much labor for printing, collating, stapling, and getting copies delivered to the schools in a government-paid-for-plus-gas vehicle?
And the government wonders why teachers are protesting?
How can the government justify this when teachers at Charlotte Amalie High School had to charge students money so they could buy paper to photocopy exams?
When schools are collecting money to buy toner for the photocopy machines? When Xerox won't sell a school department toner or cartridges unless the teacher puts it on her personal credit card, because the government owes Xerox so much money?
What a monumental waste of taxpayers' money – and a waste of resources that could be put to educational use.
But once again the BENEFIT of the teachers and students is ignored while teachers are blamed for students not learning.
We are told we don't have the students' interests at heart when we protest for one day.
Then Education issues restraining orders against us and doesn't pay us when we speak out, and then wastes the valuable resources we could have put to use.
Phebe Schwartz, St. Thomas

Mark and Monica Bastin are the proud parents of a baby boy, named Ryan Alejandro Bastin.
Ryan Alejandro was born early Thursday morning. He weighed in at 7 pounds six and a half ounces and was 20 inches long.
Mother and son expect to be home on Saturday.
The proud and happy father is the general manager of Knight Quality Stations.

The Arts Alive concert series for the 1999-2000 season has been announced. These concerts will be held in the Tillet Gardens in Tutu, starting at 8 p.m.
1999
Wednesday, Oct. 27 – Classical cellist Nina Kotova with piano accompanist.
Wednesday, Nov. 17 – Junior Mance, Jazz Trio.
Wednesday, Dec. 29 – Dennis Koster, Classical and Flamenco guitarist.
2000
Wednesday, Jan. 12 and Friday, Jan. 14 – Seigel-Schwall Blues Band with Sam Lay on the drums.
Wednesday, Jan. 26 – Awadagin Pratt, Classical piano.
Wednesday, Feb. 16 and Friday, Feb. 18 – Charles Musselwhite Blues Band.
Wednesday, mar. 13 – Richard Rodney Bennet/Mary Cleere Haran/ Cabaret – The Memory of All That/Gershwin
Wednesday Apr. 5 – The Gyphon Trio – Classical piano, cello and violin.

The old Blackbeard's Hotel and the restaurant on its property, both closed since last July, reopen Saturday night as the new Blackbeard's Inn under combined ownership and management.
For those with fond memories of the "old days," the best news may be that the restaurant's piano bar will once again feature live musical entertainment seven nights a week. Nightly through Oct. 27, from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., pianist Richard Berman will offer his repertoire of cabaret stylings on the baby grand.
Another special attraction will be an ongoing exhibition of paintings and drawings by local artist Madeleine Meehan, known for her "Mostly Music Art" drawings of performing artists at work. Meehan will be at the restaurant Saturday evening to discuss her work with guests.
Other than that, no special festivities are planned for opening night, co-owner David Abers says. For the remainder of this month, the restaurant will serve only dinner, he says; then in November it will add lunch six days a week and brunch on Sunday.
Abers, who purchased Blackbeard's Inn with St. John residents Craig and Amy Van Skaik in May, said he was much enamored of the "old" Blackbeard's and wanted to "capture the whole ambience" it once had. He feels that the renovation and restoration work has accomplished that and gone a bit farther, enhancing the attractions — notably the property centerpiece, the historic stone structure known as Blackbeard's Tower.
Now guests can climb up inside the tower, which dates from the late 1600s, and a waterfall tumbles from its height into the renovated swimming pool below. The property also sports new awnings, a new wrought-iron fence and completely renovated guest rooms.
Under the direction of chef Calvin Francis, a native of Antigua, the menu emphasizes "coastal Caribbean cuisine."
Beginning Oct. 28 and continuing through November, vocalist Margie Hobbs will be the featured entertainer, accompanied by Berman on piano and Albert Smith on guitar.
Abers says Meehan's work "fits in nicely" with the restaurant's contemporary Caribbean theme. The paintings she is displaying there are colorful images of a local jazz jam, mocko jumbie stilt dancers, steelpan players and Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean dancers.
For years, into the mid-'90s, Blackbeard's piano lounge was "the" place to go to hear live jazz, with off-island performers booked throughout much of the year by then-owners Bob Harrington and Henrique Konzen.
After Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, local restaurateur Patricia LaCorte took over the lounge and dining room, christening the new operation Cafe Lulu. After closing on the purchase of the property in May, the new Bluebeard's ownership quickly moved to take control of the food and beverage operations themselves.
Reservations are requested for dinner and may be made by calling 776-1234.

The Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas will hold a service on Friday, Oct. 22, in honor of Isidor Paiewonsky on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
A noted business leader, historian and author, Paiewonsky was born on St. Thomas on Oct. 24, 1909, and celebrated his bar mitzvah in the synagogue here at the age of 13. He has been an active member of the congregation ever since.
Rabbi Stephen Schafer, who served the congregation until a year ago, will be returning to St. Thomas to participate in the service. Guest speakers will include Gov. Charles Turnbull. The public is invited to be present.
The service will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Lilienfeld House, the Jewish community's social and educational hall. Lilienfeld House, located across the street from the synagogue and a bit farther up Synagogue Hill, is where the Camille Pissarro exhibit was housed nearly three years ago. Weekly Sabbath and holiday services are being held at the hall while the 166-year-old synagogue building undergoes extensive restoration work.

The Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas will honor business leader, historian and author Isidor Paiewonsky on the occasion of his 90th birthday with a service in his honor on Friday, Oct. 22. Rabbi Stephen Schafer, who served the congregation until a year ago, will return to St. Thomas to participate in the service. The public is invited.

Virgin Islands residents have given failing grades to the territory’s economy, according to a poll taken by the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.
The telephone poll of 607 people on St. Croix and St. Thomas was commissioned by the Chamber and conducted by long-time pollster John Boyd. According to Chamber President Noel Loftus, the effort was undertaken to gauge residents’ views on the economy and their personal spending.
Overall, the most common grade given to the economy by both St. Thomas and St. Croix residents was "F".
Even as the poll was taken between Sept. 27 and Oct. 7, Loftus said consumers scaled back their spending. The main reason is because people, mostly government-sector workers, are fearful about layoffs, he said.
"From September and October there was a marked decline in economic activity, both on St. Croix and St. Thomas," Loftus said, adding that gross receipts taxes were down 31 percent compared to a year ago July. "Everybody is very fearful and uncertain about what’s occurring."
The poll reflected residents’ skepticism of the government’s ability to solve the territory’s economic problems. According to the survey, 71 percent of the people polled said they don’t believe the Turnbull administration will solve the economic crisis.
Of the 607 people asked, 56 percent said it‘s time the federal government take control of the V.I.’s finances in order to solve the economic problems. On St. Croix, the call for federal intervention was 65 percent in favor while on St. Thomas it was 47 percent.
According to Boyd, 323 randomly selected responses were taken on St. Thomas and 284 on St. Croix. The respondents were asked if they were government employees, worked in the private sector or were not working. Boyd said no attempt was made to weight the average for all Virgin Islanders, which means that since more St. Thomas residents responded, the bias for the total is in their favor.
"There are more similarities than differences" in the poll’s responses, Boyd said. "But St. Croix government employees are the most disgruntled sector of our populace while their St. Thomas counterparts are the most contented."
Other questions in the poll found that:
— Compared to a year ago, 75 percent of the respondents said the economy is worse.
— Because of the state of the economy, 55 percent of those polled have thought about leaving the territory for better economic opportunities.
The majority of those polled have no confidence in the government, Loftus said. Translate that to the community at-large, especially public-sector workers who continue to hold off on spending in fear of layoffs, and Loftus predicted a domino effect of layoffs in the private sector.
To ease the uncertainty, he said Gov. Charles Turnbull must unveil his administration’s five-year recovery plan.
"People want to see a plan," Loftus said. "They’re losing confidence and not spending money."
Both Boyd and Loftus noted that government workers on St. Thomas outnumber their colleagues on St. Croix almost two-to-one.
"I think really and truly that’s where the problem is," Loftus said.

Designating October as "Adolescent Month" in the territory, Gov. Charles Turnbull has called on Virgin Islands adults "to educate ourselves about this group of young people, and as parents and community leaders [to] give increased attention to their development."
Defining "the young adolescent" as 10 to 15 years of age, Turnbull, a career educator, noted that there is a distinct development period between childhood and full adolescence "that has been little understood" and little recognized for its significance.
Except for infancy, he said in his proclamation, individuals in that age range go through "more extensive physical, mental, social, moral and emotional changes" than at any other time of their lives. The attitudes and values youth develop during these years "largely determine their later behavior," he said.

The low cost of gasoline on St. Croix compared to the high cost in the St. Thomas-St. John district has at least one V.I. senator up in arms.
Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg said the average cost of gas on St. Croix is 96 cents per gallon compared to nearly $2 on St. Thomas and St. John. Because of the "outrageous" disparity, he is calling for Senate hearings on the issue.
Andrew Rutnik, commissioner of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, agreed with Donastorg that gasoline retailers need to have their pricing scrutinized.
Donastorg, in an Oct. 12 letter to Sen. Gregory Bennerson, chairman of the Government Operations Committee, called for a hearing that includes representatives from Hovensa, gas station owners, the Industrial Development Commission and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.
"It is high time that we determine exactly why St. Johnians and St. Thomians are paying nearly twice as much for gasoline as their St. Croix counterparts," Donastorg wrote. "In these fiscally difficult times it is simply shameful that consumers in one district continue to be gouged this way."
Donastorg also requested that Sen. David Jones’ Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection look into the price difference at the earliest possible date.
Donastorg recommended that in resolving the issue, the Legislature "must" establish a policy through the IDC, the DLCA or another entity that supports fair fuel pricing throughout the territory.
Meanwhile, Rutnik said that Texaco gas station operators told him Thursday that they will drop the price of gas 10 cents a gallon once they deplete their current inventories.
He also agreed with Donastorg that gas retailers need to be scrutinized to ensure their "profits aren’t out of hand." Rutnik said the main reason for the high prices in the St. Thomas-St. John district was the use of wholesalers between the supplier, Hovensa and the gas stations.
"We need to put some pressure on the wholesalers," Rutnik said.

Virgin Islands residents have given failing grades to the territory’s economy, according to a poll taken by the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.
The telephone poll of 607 people on St. Croix and St. Thomas was commissioned by the Chamber and conducted by long-time pollster John Boyd. Chamber President Noel Loftus said it was undertaken to gauge residents’ views on the economy and their personal spending.
Overall, the most common grade given to the economy by both St. Thomas and St. Croix residents was "F".
Even as the poll was taken between Sept. 27 and Oct. 7, Loftus said consumers scaled back their spending. The main reason is because people, mostly government sector workers, are fearful about layoffs, he said.
"From September and October there was a marked decline in economic activity, both on St. Croix and St. Thomas," Loftus said, adding that gross receipts taxes were down 31 percent compared to a year ago July. "Everybody is very fearful and uncertain about what’s occurring."
The poll reflected residents’ skepticism about the government’s ability to solve the economic problems. Seventy-one percent of the people polled said they don’t believe the current administration will solve the economic crisis.
Of the 607 people asked, 56 percent said it was time the federal government took control of the V.I.’s finances. On St. Croix, the call for federal intervention was 65 percent in favor while on St. Thomas it was 47 percent.
According to Boyd, 323 randomly selected responses were taken on St. Thomas and 284 on St. Croix. The respondents were asked if they were government employees, worked in the private sector or were not working. Boyd said no attempt was made to weight the average for all Virgin Islanders, which means that since more St. Thomas residents responded the bias for the total is in their favor.
"There are more similarities than differences" in the poll’s responses, Boyd said. "But St. Croix government employees are the most disgruntled sector of our populace, while their St. Thomas counterparts are the most contented."
Other questions in the poll found that:

• Compared to a year ago, 75 percent of the respondents said the economy was worse than a year ago.
• Because of the state of the economy, 55 percent of those polled have thought about leaving the territory for better economic opportunities.

The majority of those polled have no confidence in the government, Loftus said. Translate that to the community at large, especially public sector workers who continue to hold off on spending in fear of layoffs, and Loftus predicted a domino effect of layoffs in the private sector.
To ease the uncertainty, he said Gov. Charles Turnbull must unveil his administration’s five-year recovery plan.
"People want to see a plan," Loftus said. "They’re losing confidence and not spending money."
Both Boyd and Loftus noted that government workers on St. Thomas outnumber their colleagues on St. Croix almost two-to-one.
"I think really and truly that’s where the problem is," Loftus said.