Chapter 9 bankruptcy stares us in our faces. Despite six task forces, adept advisors, competent professionals and widespread support for just solutions and lasting formulas for our rehabilitation, we are living a crazy life in the Virgin Islands.
The austerity measures to be adopted are well known, and they should have been implemented en el primero dia — the first day of the Turnbull-James Administration.
The problems are well known, the conditions that led to these problems are even better understood, and the solutions have been reiterated ad nauseam.
What else will it take for our political leadership to act on the well-known formula of sacrificing now and reaping later — three wise men and a bright star from the east? Please, not another hurricane!
My brother Kankan tells me we need some divine stuff to wake us up, but we've had six hurricanes in 10 years and we still cannot make tough choices, stick by those decisions and implement them. I do not mean to sound blasphemous to the devout crowd, but after a while, even spiritual guidance cannot rescue such hardheaded people.
Around us everything is changing but our foolish mentality and us. Cuba will be re-integrated in the world capitalist system within five years, and the United States will normalize relations with that island state within two years — if not sooner.
The cruise ship industry will increase calls within the region, but passengers will spend less than half of what they used to in our local stores. Our petrochemical and aluminum refinery plants on St. Croix will be subjected to the volatile conditions of global production more than ever before. Hence, we cannot expect consistent flows of production or profit.
North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization regulations will limit the preferred market status of our local Cruzan Rum on the U.S. mainland, and within five years we will be engaged in Rum Wars just as our sister Caribbean neighbors are now fighting Banana Wars.
But here in the Virgin Islands, our political leaders are silent on these issues. Most appear overwhelmed by the fiscal crisis that confronts the territory and unable to tie the larger economic trends that will create economic disasters to the small issues of balancing the budget and growing the economy.
I do not want to be mistaken as an esoteric academic more concerned with coffee beans in Colombia than the price of rice in Pueblo, but for too long our leaders have been unaware of the real world of global economics.
As an exception, Tourism Commissioner designate Michael Bornn honestly said that the Virgin Islands needs an advertising budget of about $20 million instead of $1 million. (I read it is less, but I do not believe that our government could be so unwise). Many past and present legislators have used tourism advertising funds as a "partner hand" or "slush fund." Whatever hot event was on for the year, they spent tourism advertising dollars on it.
What is disgusting during these annual raids on tourism funds is the illogical logic politicians use to win Mr. or Ms. Popularity: that investing in anything that promotes the Virgin Islands promotes the tourism product.
That logic was used for the Sinbad's Soul Music Festival. Give Sinbad just about everything, and we will automatically benefit because Sinbad will promote us because he was here.
"Nuthin t'all go so."
We need to hire economists who understand economic development. We need to elect political leaders who understand business management, accounting, economics, political science and public administration. The present approach of collective denial and procrastination will compound our problems. The solution is simple: (1) balance the budget; (2) get all of our excise taxes gasoline and rum).
Concerning the gasoline excise taxes, we need to be brutally honest. Let those political leaders who are unwilling and unable to fight for what is due to our people, step aside; we shall deal with you in the 2000 election. For those who talk the talk, you must walk the walk, and get busy researching how to get our money.
The 20th Century will end with the Virgin Islands people in the most insane predicament:

• We shall be the most conspicuous consumers in the Caribbean but the least productive.
• We shall have the best possible political conditions to make this territory a beacon of democracy but do nothing except engage in stupid, petty personality conflicts while the political system rots.
• We shall have all the material conditions to resolve every socio-economic problem but due to our ideological and moral bankruptcy we will cannibalize our children's future while we get our grooves on.
• We shall impose tremendous difficulties on future generations of Virgin Islanders by failing to make the difficult choices, the severe sacrifices, today, in order for our children to benefit tomorrow.
• We will live la vida loca until our society collapses and we learn to place our priorities in the right order. Our children will never forgive us despite our mental condition(s).

Personnel costs have eaten up so much of the Department of Labor’s budget, little is left over for supplies and utilities.
Such problems, however, aren’t new to the department, Commissioner Sonia Jacobs Dow testified at the Senate Finance Committee’s budget hearing in Frederiksted on Tuesday.
Dow said the department receives more than $12 million from 27 different federal grants, but step increases to unionized employees in 1994 and 1998 have pushed payroll costs to the point that there is no money to pay rent, utilities, supplies, equipment purchases and maintenance.
An example of high personnel costs cutting into other areas are programs supported by the Government Insurance Fund, Dow said.
"The Division of Workers’ Compensation, in particular, operates without a copier, fax machine, and until recently, without computers," Dow said.
Because the division has no copier, she said, department employees have spent hours and days in the offices of law firms copying workers compensation documents.
"While the attorney’s staff actually duplicates the documents for which clients are billed, the DOL employee must remain with the file at all times," Dow explained. "You can imagine the cost to the department in lost productivity."
Also, Dow said, the government is required to expend an amount equal to 10 percent of personnel costs funded by federal grants. She said the money technically budgeted by Labor for payroll is instead transferred to other agencies, notably the Office of Management and Budget, to cover the administrative costs of processing grant applications and implementation.
Even though Labor writes, monitors and manages all of its federal grants, Dow said, it is not allowed to use federal funds to cover the costs within the department itself.
"We do not believe OMB and other agencies provide the department of Labor with services that demand such a big bite of the funds we raise through federal grants," Dow said. "If the Department of Labor cannot sustain its own operations with federal grants awarded for department initiatives, it is preposterous to expect that we can sustain the operations of the federal government."
The department is seeking $643,257 from the general fund for fiscal year 2000, which is less than 15 percent of its total budget, Dow said. Federal and Government Insurance Funds make up the balance of the total $2.4 million budget. After some reorganization, the Dow said the department was able to save $156,000
Adding to the department’s problems is that the Government Insurance Fund has a negative balance of $154,000, Dow said. Based on an unaudited Department of Finance report, Dow said that outstanding bills from 1983 to 1999 amount to more than $6.5 million.
On Aug. 25, Finance officials said they would not approve payments for workers’ compensation claims because the fund is negative, Dow said.
"The ill health of this fund is directly attributed to the failure of government agencies to pay into the fund," she said. "So the saga of the Workers’ Compensation program continues. The prognosis is not good."
Also testifying at the hearing were representatives from the Public Employees Relations Board. PERB Chairman Aubrey Lee said the board’s goals for FY 2000 are to reduce the use of costly off-island arbitrators and instead use ones familiar with local workplace issues.

After two days of fishing, Sea Witch alone landed a tuna, a dolphin, a wahoo, and a kingfish to win the Grand Slam of the Inshore Four Fishing Tournament.
The Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club ran the Inshore Four tourney as part of their Small Boat Series. Marielle Brandon and Sea Witch added their $3,500 worth of airline tickets and cash to the winnings from first place at this year's Northside Kingfish Tournament.
Two days of fishing showed how fickle the sea can be. Both Saturday and Sunday provided similar weather conditions, but Saturday provided fishermen with twice the number of fish. Three boats needed only one more fish to have all four species for the Grand Slam after Saturday. Patty's Permission searched in vain for a single dolphin, and Rampage was hunting for wahoo. Not scoring a Grand Slam did not leave these boats empty handed however, as Rampage scored most weight of fish with 117.2 pounds, and Patty's Permission won the best three species weight with 62.6 pounds.
Offshore Marine hosted the event and their big deck in Subbase was the scene of the weigh in and BBQ party assisted by Coca Cola and Coors Light. American Airlines and U.S. Air provided tickets for the first and second place winners. First and second place winners of individual largest fish awards were awarded Shimano Reels and Shimano Rods.
In the individual scoring, the Turbe family turned up at the awards table regularly, with Scott Turbe's 32.2 pound fish winning first in kingfish, and Adam Turbe second place in both dolphin and tuna. First place in dolphin, at only 9.2 pounds, was awarded to Albert Sibilly, Tom Anderson's sixteen pound tuna was first, and Marielle Brandon's 35.2 pound wahoo added first in that category to her winnings for the day.

Personnel costs have eaten up so much of the Department of Labor’s budget, little is left over for supplies and utilities.
Such problems, however, aren’t new to the department, testified Commissioner Sonia Jacobs Dow at the Senate Finance Committee’s budget hearing in Frederiksted on Tuesday.
Dow said the department receives more than $12 million from 27 different federal grants, but step increases to unionized employees in 1994 and 1998 have pushed payroll costs to the point that there is no money to pay rent, utilities, supplies, equipment purchases and maintenance.
An example of high personnel costs cutting into other areas are programs supported by the Government Insurance Fund, Dow said.
"The Division of Workers Compensation, in particular, operates without a copier, fax machine, and until recently, without computers," Dow said.
Because the division has no copier, she said department employees have spent hours and days in the offices of law firms copying workers compensation documents because the files must always be accompanied.
"While the attorney’s staff actually duplicates the documents for which clients are billed, the DOL employee must remain with the file at all times," Dow explained. "You can imagine the cost to the department in lost productivity."
Also, Dow said, the government is required to expend an amount equal to 10 percent of personnel costs funded by federal grants. She said the money technically budgeted by Labor for payroll is instead transferred to other agencies, notably the Office of Management and Budget, to cover the administrative costs of processing grant applications and implementation.
Even though Labor writes, monitors and manages all of its federal grants, Dow said, it is not allowed to use federal funds to cover the costs within the department itself.
"We do not believe OMB and other agencies provide the Department of Labor with services that demand such a big bite of the funds we raise through federal grants," Dow said. "If the Department of Labor cannot sustain its own operations with federal grants awarded for department initiatives, it is preposterous to expect that we can sustain the operations of the federal government."
The department is seeking $643,257 from the general fund for fiscal year 2000, which is less than 15 percent of its total budget, Dow said. Federal and Government Insurance Funds make up the balance of the total $2.4 million budget. After some reorganization, the Dow said the department was able to save $156,000
Adding to the department’s problems is that the Government Insurance Fund has a negative balance of $154,000, Dow said. Based on an unaudited Department of Finance report, Dow said that outstanding bills from 1983 to 1999 amount to more than $6.5 million.
On Aug. 25, Finance officials said they would not approve payments for workers’ compensation claims because the fund is negative, Dow said.
"The ill health of this fund is directly attributed to the failure of government agencies to pay into the fund," she said. "So the saga of the Workers’ Compensation program continues. The prognosis is not good."
Also testifying at the hearing were representatives from the Public Employees Relations Board. PERB Chairman Aubrey Lee said the board’s goals for FY 2000 are to reduce the use of costly off-island arbitrators and instead use ones familiar with local workplace issues.

The Legislature will have to amend the the V.I. Casino and Resort Control Act in order for the territory’s first casino to open by the middle of December, according to Eileen Petersen, chairwoman of the Casino Control Commission.
At Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee budget hearings, Petersen told members that V.I. law states that six months prior to the time the CCC issues its first casino license, training must be provided to workers, 80 percent of whom must be V.I. residents. Legalized gaming is not supposed to be allowed until that occurs.
Because the opening of the government’s casino training school has been postponed until Sept. 15 and the casino portion of the Divi Carina Bay Resort on St. Croix is set to open sometime in December, Petersen said the law must be amended to allow for only three months of training.
"If training isn’t completed the casino won’t be allowed to open," Petersen said, adding that she notified Government House of the problem in June. "The coming three months are critical."
In a Sept. 2 letter to Petersen, the attorney for the resort and casino, Scott Redman, noted the need for an amendment so gaming can begin in December.
"We are concerned that notwithstanding our efforts to open the casino in December, the casino laws and regulations themselves may create an obstacle due to the late opening of the casino school," Redman wrote. "Appropriate amendments to the school-related timing requirements would appear to be needed to allow a timely opening of the first casino."
Committee chairwoman Sen. Lorraine Berry said the amendment would be offered at the next scheduled session of the Senate. A member of Senate President Vargrave Richards’ staff, however, was unsure of when the body would meet next because of the budget hearings.
Meanwhile, under Gov. Charles Turnbull’s revised budget the CCC is looking at a cut of more than 50 percent. The CCC is requesting approximately $1.4 million for fiscal year 2000 while the governor allotted $690,000. A 15 percent cut, which the governor is calling on all government department’s to implement, would place the commission’s budget at approximately $1.2 million.
When asked by Sen. George Goodwin how the commission would survive after a 50 percent cut, Petersen’s response was frank.
"We would have no regulation of the casino industry," she said.
Yet another problem in the commission’s regulation of casinos is the lack of funding for casino inspectors. Petersen said that instead of filling two of the three vacant slots on the five-member commission, the $160,000 savings should be used to hire two or three casino inspectors.
Currently, the commission has only two of five members serving. A third individual who would establish a quorum, Lloyd McAlpin, has been nominated by the governor but is not yet approved by the Legislature.
"The Casino Control Commission believes it can survive with a three-member commission," Petersen said. "It’s better to have three members full time than a five members part time."
Sen. Gregory Bennerson, however, said he was concerned about the proposed salaries for the casino inspectors — $30,000 a year — and for a $45,000 audit inspector position. He said that in a million-dollar industry underpaid regulators could be tempted to illegally supplement their incomes.
The Legislature’s Post Auditor, Campbell Malone, said casino auditing is a specialty that fetches a salary of at least $100,000 a year.
Despite the challenges facing the commission, Petersen said she anticipates processing at least two casino-hotel applications within the next 60 days. Should the two applicants receive licenses, Petersen said, they would conservatively generate approximately $1.2 million in gross revenue taxes a year for the government.
In addition to tax revenue, Petersen said that between 700 and 900 employees would be needed to staff the two anticipated casino-hotels.

The Legislature will have to amend the V.I. Casino and Resort Control Act in order for the territory’s first casino to open by the middle of December, according to Eileen Petersen, chairwoman of the Casino Control Commission.
At Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee budget hearings, Petersen told members that V.I. law states that six months prior to the time the CCC issues its first casino license, training must be provided to workers, 80 percent of whom must be V.I. residents. Legalized gaming is not supposed to be allowed until that occurs.
Because the opening of the government’s casino training school has been postponed until Sept. 15 and the casino portion of the Divi Carina Bay Resort on St. Croix is set to open sometime in December, Petersen said the law must be amended to allow for three months of training.
"If training isn’t completed the casino won’t be allowed to open," Petersen said, adding that she notified Government House of the problem in June. "The coming three months are critical."
In a Sept. 2 letter to Petersen, the attorney for the resort and casino, Scott Redman, noted the need for an amendment so gaming can begin in December.
"We are concerned that notwithstanding our efforts to open the casino in December, the casino laws and regulations themselves may create an obstacle due to the late opening of the casino school," Redman wrote. "Appropriate amendments to the school-related timing requirements would appear to be needed to allow a timely opening of the first casino."
Committee chairwoman Sen. Lorraine Berry said the amendment would be offered at the next scheduled session of the Senate. A member of Senate President Vargrave Richards’ staff, however, was unsure of when the body would meet next because of the budget hearings.
Meanwhile, under Gov. Charles Turnbull’s revised budget the CCC is looking at a cut of more than 50 percent. The CCC is requesting approximately $1.4 million for fiscal year 2000 while the governor allotted $690,000. A 15 percent cut, which the governor is calling on all government departments to implement, would place the commission’s budget at approximately $1.2 million.
When asked by Sen. George Goodwin how the commission would survive after a 50 percent cut, Petersen’s response was frank.
"We would have no regulation of the casino industry," she said.
Yet another problem in the commission’s regulation of casinos is the lack of funding for casino inspectors. Petersen said that instead of filling two of the three vacant slots on the five-member commission, the $160,000 savings should be used to hire two or three casino inspectors.
Currently, the commission has only two of five members serving. A third, Lloyd McAlpin, who would establish a quorum, has been nominated by the governor but is not yet approved by the Legislature.
"The Casino Control Commission believes it can survive with a three-member commission," Petersen said. "It’s better to have three members full time than five members part time."
Sen. Gregory Bennerson, however, said he was concerned about the proposed salaries for the casino inspectors — $30,000 a year — and for a $45,000 audit inspector position. He said that in a million-dollar industry underpaid regulators could be tempted to illegally supplement their incomes.
The Legislature’s Post Auditor, Campbell Malone, said casino auditing was a specialty that fetches a salary of at least $100,000 a year.
Despite the challenges facing the commission, Petersen said she anticipates processing at least two casino-hotel applications within the next 60 days. Should the two applicants receive licenses, Petersen said, they would conservatively generate approximately $1.2 million in gross revenue taxes a year for the government.
In addition to tax revenue, Petersen said, between 700 and 900 employees would be needed to staff the two anticipated casino-hotels.

It may well be that only on St. Thomas would mad dogs and Englishmen find themselves in the company of thousands of normally normal folks out in the noonday sun — at the hottest time of the year, consuming copious quantities of steamy, spicy chili, no less.
That's the annual Texas Society of the Virgin Islands Chili Cookoff for ya.
The phenomenon manifests itself for the 15th time on Sunday, Sept. 12, on Sapphire Beach. If you've never been to one, here comes a virtual verbal tour. If you've gone before, there's nothing more you need to know; either you wouldn't miss it for all the oil in Texas, or they'd have to hogtie you to get you back.
There are three aspects to the event: the morning preparation of the chili in competition for prizes, the eating of same by the throngs that surge onto the sand around noon (or shortly thereafter, if they expect to find much more than a dollop at the bottom of the pots), and the family fun and games that go on all afternoon.
Chili tastes, served up in little plastic cups, are a mere 25 cents (unchanged in 15 years!), but the average patron will consume at least half a dozen of them, plus an appropriate amount of chilled beer, water or soft drinks to counteract the effects. There will be live music on a stage and beach games all afternoon, with the ever-present option of taking a dunk in the sea to cool off.
The cooking part is regulated by the rules of the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI), which specify, among other things, that you can't use "filler" such as beans, rice, hominy or (for those of the Cincinnati school) spaghetti. What's being judged is hand-cut or coarse- ground beef in the secret savory sauce of the cook's creation. (Once the judging's over, everybody's actually encouraged to throw in the beans and whatnot to make the "pot o red" go farther for the hungry hordes.)
Cooks can assemble from 6 a.m. onward. Each entry must provide its own cooking stove and fuel, table(s) and chair(s), preparation and cooking utensils, raw meat, seasonings and, if taking part in the separate "showmanship" competition, adornments and props.
There's a fee of $25 per cook, and for teams a head cook must be designated as liaison with the chili judging panel. That person and a companion get invited to the equivalent of a "captains' meeting" the night before the cookoff, to dine, draw site assignments, go over rules and regs and get psyched up for the next day's doings.
The chili judges will begin tasting shortly after high noon to determine who will represent the "Virgin Pod" (one of 186 member pods in CASI) at the international society's annual chili cookoff in November in Terlingua, Texas. Later in the afternoon, another set of judges will rank the optional showmanship entries. There will be prizes for the top 10 chili concoctions and for the three best showmanship efforts.
A big part of the event's appeal is that its primary purpose is to raise funds to be donated to local service organizations. The major beneficiary for many years has been the Queen Louise Home for the Aged. Also on the receiving end this year will be the American Red Cross St. Thomas/St. John Chapter, Dial-A-Ride, Family Support Network, Kidscope, the St. Thomas Swimming Association, St. Thomas Rescue and the V.I. Institute of Performing Arts.
The 1999 sponsors are all back from previous cookoffs: Knight Quality Stations, Coors Light, CastleSprings, VitelCellular, American Airlines and Certified Angus Beef. That last one means that cooks have the option of acquiring maybe 20 to 40 pounds of beef for free — they just have to go pick it up once they're registered.
If there's a doyenne of chili cooking in the Virgin Islands, it's Georgeann "Pepper" Peters, who's been a part of the proceedings from the start. For this 15th event, she's putting together "a little side competition" among winners of past years.
Another thing that will be different this year, she notes, is not for fun at all: Randy Lusby, who was fatally shot at the Toad and Tart pub earlier this summer, was a cookoff committee stalwart, and as a tribute to him, there will be blue ribbons available to wear. A handful of individuals in the community have embraced lawlessness as a way of life, Peters says, but "there are over 50,000 people on St. Thomas who want the violence to stop."
Cookoff applications are accepted right up to Sunday morning, but to get the free beef and an invite to the Saturday night party, you'll need to pre-register. To arrange to get an application blank, call Peters at 776-3595 or 775-8011.

According to Department of Education spokeswoman June Archibald, there are at least nine vacant math/science teacher positions at the secondary level and teachers in general are fleeing at the rate of three per day. These figures would indicate a need for at least 40 teachers by now, with more vacancies to come.
One immediate answer to the ever-present problem of not enough teachers would be to send many of the central office personnel into the classroom. Surely the directors of the various divisions and the commissioner can answer questions germane to their functions without resorting to a "spokesperson" at a salary and benefit package greater than that of a teacher. The list of non-teaching "professionals" in education is extensive.
Another answer is immediate legislation allowing retired government employees to take teaching positions if they have the qualifications. At present, a government retiree can obtain either a part time or full time position at the university depending upon ones skills, educational background, and politics
The only job a government retiree can take with the Department of Education, without forgoing their retirement benefits, is that of a substitute teacher. According to a Daily News editorial, substitute teachers are paid less than a high school drop out bus driver. Even then, the retiree can only work a total of 75 days at a full day's pay, or less than 20 hours per week.
South Carolina has an educational problem similar to that of the Virgin Islands. South Carolina simply lacks the tax base to provide adequate funds to hire teachers at compensation levels equal to private enterprise. This results in vacancies and ill prepared teachers. In order to overcome some of this problem, the state legislature has passed legislation to allow retired teachers to return to the classroom while retaining their retirement status and pay.
When one thinks about it, this is a win/ win situation. On the teacher's part, it allows those who wish to have a couple more years of solid pay to help finance the ever increasing golden years provided by an extended life expectancy. On the school finance side, the teachers' benefit packages can be significantly reduced. As far as the children are concerned, they benefit with the retention of fully qualified and experienced teachers.
Can the Virgin Islands legislature be this astute? Only time will tell.

Declaring "this is the worst it's ever been," local businessman and marine industry leader Rik Van Rensselaer is very concerned about the island's economy.
"I've been here for 23 years, and I've never seen the island in such a mess," Van Rensselaer said. And he has plans to do something about it.
In an economic slump, people tend to lose sight of their spending and get into debt. This is a common situation, both here and in the states. Van Rensselaer has a solution called "Money Masters Seminars," which just might give local people the impetus they need to climb out of debt.
"It takes guts to pick up a pair of scissors and cut up those credit cards, but that's where it has to begin," he said.
The seminars are designed to address anyone in debt and worried about it; anyone concerned about retirement income; those wanting to quit their present job and explore something new – in short, anyone concerned about building a solid economic future which allows for freedom of choice.
The community-minded Van Rensselaer is a founding member of VITAAL, the V.I. Tourism Awareness and Advancement Link headed by Mable Maduro. He is also a founder and active member of VIMI (Virgin Islands Marine Industries). Van Rensselaer ran his own boat, "Flute," out of Red Hook for 16 years.
His wife, Corinne, is also an active member of the business community. She owns the popular Color of Joy art gallery and gift shop at American Yacht Harbor.
Saying that new Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik is "like a breath of fresh air," Van Rensselaer praised both Rutnik and acting Tourism Commissioner Michael Bornn.
"There is a large support group of inventive and intelligent people in the private sector more than willing to help the island, if given a chance," Van Rensselaer said.
Anyone interested in cutting up their credit cards, or just getting a better hold on their money can contact Van Rensselaer at 340-779-2603 or e-mail him at vi.yachts@virginislands.net.

The first Parents-Teachers Association meeting of the Peace Corps Elementary School will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sep. 22, at the conference room at Mahogany Run.
Parents are encouraged to come to meet your child's teacher and plan for the '99-2000 school year.