The advanced class of the Reichhold Youth Theatre will be presenting two one- act plays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on July 31 and August 1 at the UVI Little Theater.
The plays to be presented are: "ARIA DA CAPO" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and
"The Actor's Nightmare" by Christopher Durang.
Tickets are $5 and are available from students of the Theatre, Reichhold Box Office 693-1559, and UVI Little Theatre : 2 p.m.-6:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday and on show nights.

The Reichhold Youth Theater Presents "We're Working on It!" — a production of their own-design for children of all ages. The play will be presented at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on July 24 and July 25 at the UVI Little Theatre
Tickets are $5 and are available from students of the Theatre, Reichhold Box Office 693-1559, & UVI Little Theatre : 2 p.m.-6:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday and on show nights.

Pay cuts, layoffs and decreases in government services appear imminent after a meeting Friday between Gov. Charles Turnbull and members of the 23rd Legislature, where senators were told the territory's budget must be slashed by 15 percent.
"Who gets fired first is the biggest question," Sen. Anne Golden said gloomily after Friday's meeting. "We do have a monster of a government and a workforce that's really too large, and it needs to be streamlined."
Layoffs appear to be unavoidable because the succeeding administrations have taken little action to solve the government's financial problems, Sen. George Goodwin said.
"If you're going to cut 15 percent, it simply means you're going to cut into employees," Goodwin said.
"The government has to cut its expenses and so far it hasn't done anything in that breadth," he continued. "Now we face options that are difficult and we have to face them now, or some else will be making decisions for us."
Turnbull is expected to send several pieces of cost cutting legislation to the Senate in the coming weeks. According to senators interviewed Friday, these bills may include authorization to take out a $100 million loan, government reorganization, the elimination of five government holidays, and the 15 percent budget cut.
The budget was previously trimmed by 5 percent from about $488 million to $466 million. The additional 10 percent cut drops spending another $46 million, but exact figures were not available Friday afternoon.
"These cost saving measures require biting the bullet," Senate President Vargrave Richards said after the meeting. "The governor has a plan to deal with the budget deficit and he's obviously facing the reality in terms of being able to make payroll in the next six to eight weeks.
"It's time to address these major concerns. We have for too long been running from this day," Richards said.
Golden and other senators said before layoffs take place, the government should attempt to buy out employees interested in leaving public service.
"What they ought to do is consider getting some of the most expensive people off the payroll first," Golden said. "And there are some who have simply been there too long."
Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd said he has submitted legislation to create a program where the government will be able to buy out employee's contracts, giving them seed money to make the transition to private life.
"I believe there's a lot of people who would be willing to do that, especially because it looks like they're going to receive a salary cut," Liburd said.
The government should also consider cutting a few hours from the work week, he said.
"I don't believe there should be layoffs. If it's either lay-offs or cutting the work week, I think the public will go along with cutting the work week," Liburd said.
While layoffs are not definite, government reorganization is a certainty. Turnbull's Chief of Staff Juel Molloy has said in recent interviews that all government departments and agencies will undergo at least some internal restructuring while some will be consolidated into others.
Major reorganizations proposals include combining the V.I. Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation, the V.I. Housing Authority and the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, and consolidating the Office of Collective Bargaining with the Division of Personnel into a Division of Human Resources, Molloy said.
The administration may also combine the Small Business Development Administration, the Government Development Bank and the Industrial Development Commission.
Other proposals are still being examined, Molloy said.
Another method apparently being discussed to cut the size of the government is privatization.
Golden said the V.I. Water and Power Authority is an agency the government should seriously consider selling.
"When you've got a critical utility and you realize you can't finance its operations anymore, you have to sell it," Golden said.
The overall sentiment of senators leaving the meeting was that the territory is running of time to straighten out its finances.
"The governor presented a picture to us in which the implication is, if we don't make tough decisions, the federal government will make them for us," Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus said. "Now is the time to act and act as if there's no tomorrow."
Senators also said the growing financial problems may soon be too large for the territory to deal with on its own.
"I think there is now an understanding that as elected officials there are some tough times ahead of us and we are going go have to make some decisions that are very unpopular," Sen. Roosevelt David said. " If we don't have the guts to make these decisions now, it simply means that we have definitely lost control."
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Citibank has been sued by a pair of customers who allege they were forced to buy "worthless" and expensive loan insurance they were misled to believe was car insurance when they took out auto loans with the institution. As of Friday afternoon Citibank had made no comment on the allegations.
The law suit, filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, claims Citibank sold the residents Vendor's Single Interest (VSI) insurance, which according to the pair's attorney Claudette Ferron, protects only the bank if clients default on their auto loan or the vehicle is stolen.
"It's a rip off," Ferron said in a released statement. "Citibank has been charging its Virgin Islands customers thousands of dollars for loan insurance that doesn't protect their cars at all.
"Customers are being led to believe that they're buying car insurance, but what they're buying is loan insurance that covers only the bank," she said.
VSI insurance is not illegal. It insures the balance of the car loan given to a customer; if the customer defaults on the loan and the car is repossessed, or the car is stolen or totaled, VSI pays the bank the balance of the loan, Ferron explained.
Thus, if a borrower's car is worth $5,000 at the time it's lost or totaled, they have no other insurance and they still owe $500 on their car loan, VSI insurance will pay the bank $500 while the customer loses the $4,500 equity in the car.
Regular car insurance would reimburse the value of the car and the borrower would pay the bank the remaining $500 of the loan.
According to the suit, Citibank broke the law when it either misled customers about VSI insurance or did not adequately explain its purpose.
"I don't believe anyone who signed a Citibank car loan really understood what they were being forced to sign," Ferron said. "Citibank had a duty to disclose to their customers what VSI insurance really is."
Other banks in the U.S. require car loan customers to buy VSI insurance. The suit also alleges, however, that Citibank's VSI are rates are astronomical compared what it charges in the U.S.
The suit alleges Citibank charged one of the plaintiffs, Ebony Potter, $4,354 for VSI insurance on a $20,500 loan, but it only charges customers in the mainland a one-time $37 fee.
"That's a mark up of over 15,800 percent," Ferron said. "When you add interest over five years, she was being charged $5,8771.31 for loan insurance that didn't even protect her car."
The suit claims Citibank was able to continue this practice because of the territory's flimsy insurance laws.
"It's unconscionable. And Citibank can do it in the Virgin Islands because the laws on the books either don't apply or they're outdated or too weak. They couldn't do it anywhere else," Ferron said.
The Virgin Islands does not have any regulations governing the type of loan insurance Citibank sold. The territory also has not enacted consumer credit protection laws that would guard residents from excessive loan insurance, Ferron said.
"Citibank had a duty to disclose to their customers what VSI insurance really is They also had a duty to disclose that Citibank got a huge commission from the insurance company for every VSI insurance policy it sold," she said.
The plaintiffs are suing for a refund of all the VSI premiums they paid plus other compensatory and punitive damages.
"Citibank is relying on weak laws and no government oversight to take advantage of people in the Virgin Islands," Ferron said.

As the December opening date for St. Croix’s first casino draws nearer, the V.I. Casino Control Commission has renewed the license for the government’s gaming school.
In order for the commission to relicense the school, it had to hold a special meeting on Friday because it was the final day of Commissioner Dennis Brow’s term. That leaves Chairwoman Eileen Petersen and commissioner Imelda Dizon essentially in limbo, unable to make quorum.
After the meeting, Petersen said she hadn’t spoken recently to Gov. Charles Turnbull about adding a third member, although she said he knows that Brow’s term has expired. A call to the governor’s spokesman, James O’Bryan, was not returned Friday afternoon.
"There has been some indication that steps are being taken," Petersen said. "But I haven’t been officially advised."
Meanwhile, the casino gaming school, which will be operated by the V.I. Department of Tourism, is scheduled to open August 2. (See related story in Local News.) Although the school has been licensed for more than two years, it was never funded because for most of that time there were no casinos slated to open. The school’s license expired at the beginning of July, but with Mississippi-based Treasure Bay Casino set to open this winter, local residents must be trained to work in the industry.
The V.I. Casino and Resort Control Act states that six months prior to the time the CCC issues its first casino license, training must be provided to resident workers. Legalized gaming is not supposed to be allowed until that occurs. The CCC granted Treasure Bay’s license last December.
The act mandates that 80 percent of all casino workers must be residents of the Virgin Islands.
Vic Taucer, a gaming professor for the Resorts/Gaming department at the Community College of Southern Nevada, will conduct the training. He said he still hasn’t finalized a contract and deferred questions about the start up of the school to the Department of Tourism’s Tracy Ellis. Ellis, however, was out sick on Friday.
Taucer and his staff must be licensed by the CCC before they do any training. But that will have to wait until another commissioner is added.
As for training perspective casino workers,Taucer said applicants with experience in the service industry are usually best suited for gaming jobs.
"I think once we start training there will be a lot of enthusiasm," he said.
According to Brow, as of July 7, 82 residents had completed a employment registration form. The casino act mandates that different positions on the casino floor require differing amounts of training. For example, for a student to deal a first game of blackjack, they need 160 hours of training. For baccarat and roulette it is 200 hours and for craps it is 240.
Meanwhile, after Friday’s meeting, Petersen blasted critics, both in the Legislature and community, for wanting to tamper with the make-up of the CCC. She said that amending the casino act at this point weakens the territory’s chances of attracting investors looking for a stable system.
Calls to reduce the number of commissioners and changing their $80,000-a-year positions from full time to part time would only raise warning flags to other gaming commissions, which must approve casinos they regulate that want to open on St. Croix.
Petersen said the V.I.’s commission is patterned after New Jersey’s, where commissioners are full time. She suggested that if the commission is made part time, then the money saved should be used to hire additional gaming investigators.
"If you tamper with this commission at this point, what you’re saying is that Mississippi was wrong…"
"If you don’t like the commissioners, change them . . . don’t destroy the entire system," she continued. "Constant tampering is dangerous, detrimental and deadly."
An individual familiar with casino matters in the territory said the calls for revamping the body and the lack of installing a new commissioner promptly aren’t because of the government’s financial crunch. Rather, the person, who wished to remain anonymous, said it is politically motivated.
In other CCC action Friday, commissioners approved a temporary permit for Bally’s to supply casino equipment to Treasure Bay Casino. It also approved a half dozen license exemptions to companies that plan to do business with the casino.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency has approved a $50,000 grant for the New Image Foundation, which will provide technical assistance to small businesses in St. Thomas.
The assistance will include job training and placement, and an entrepreneurial development program; funds will be used for equipment, supplies and salaries.
New Image is a non-profit entity that provides training opportunities for women-owned businesses, with special emphasis on women from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The V.I. Hospitality Training School Casino Career Program is scheduled to open August 2, according to acting Tourism Commissioner Monique Sibilly-Hodge .
"All persons who wish to enter the casino gaming industry must enroll in the Casino Program. The participants will be recipients of a long-term investment in the economy of St. Croix, "Hodge said in statement released Friday.
The program offers courses for entry-level blackjack, craps and roulette dealers, and slot supervisors. No tuition fee is being charged for the courses, which will also cover casino industry policies, game rules and regulations, dealing procedures, protection of the games and customer service standards.
Persons who have already submitted applications should confirm their enrollment with Yolanda Bryan at the St. Croix Department of Tourism at 773-0495.
New applicants are also encouraged to apply. Applicants must be at least 21 years old and have proof of Virgin Islands residency, proof of citizenship or eligibility to work in the United States and a social security number.
Applicant must also have a "positive attitude," customer service orientation, and basic mathematical skills and manual dexterity, the statement said.
All applicants are required to pay a one-time $25 application fee. The payment can be made by cash, check or certified money order at 53A Company Street in Christiansted, Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. A math skills assessment will be administered to all applicants.

The V.I. Hospitality Training School Casino Career Program is scheduled to open August 2, according to acting Tourism Commissioner Monique Sibilly-Hodge .
"All persons who wish to enter the casino gaming industry must enroll in the Casino Program. The participants will be recipients of a long-term investment in the economy of St. Croix, "Hodge said in statement released Friday.
The program offers courses for entry-level blackjack, craps and roulette dealers, and slot supervisors. No tuition fee is being charged for the courses, which will also cover casino industry policies, game rules and regulations, dealing procedures, protection of the games and customer service standards.
Persons who have already submitted applications should confirm their enrollment with Yolanda Bryan at the St. Croix Department of Tourism at 773-0495.
New applicants are also encouraged to apply. Applicants must be at least 21 years old and have proof of Virgin Islands residency, proof of citizenship or eligibility to work in the United States and a social security number.
Applicant must also have a "positive attitude," customer service orientation, and basic mathematical skills and manual dexterity, the statement said.
All applicants are required to pay a one-time $25 application fee. The payment can be made by cash, check or certified money order at 53A Company Street in Christiansted, Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. A math skills assessment will be administered to all applicants.

Corinne Innis, who grew up between St. Thomas, St. John and Manhattan, is making inroads into art circles in San Francisco.
Innis is the youngest daughter of Mary Innis of St. John and Roy Innis of St. Croix.
Innis calls herself an Afro-Caribbean artist. "I think wherever you are from is what your art reflects. If I were from Italy I guess I would call my work Italian art."
Innis says she is also a modern artist. "I guess that comes from living part time in Manhattan."
She say though she was born in New York she was brought almost immediately to St. John. "My first memories are of St. John."
Throughout her life Innis moved between the Virgin Islands and New York.
"When I graduated from college I came back to St. John," where she stayed from 1986 until 1989 when she moved to Berkeley, CA.
Innis' work was first seen publicly in February 1997 at an exhibit entitled "Women From Far Away." The exhibit showcased the work of women from places such as Ethiopia, and Chili.
Since then Innis has shown her work as a participant in Pro Arts and the Art of Living Black Open Studios.
Last November her painting "Orixa and Her Disciples" was used as the poster and postcard for Ishmael Reed's latest play "Hubba City." The image also ran on the front page to the style section of the San Francisco Examiner as part of an article on Ishmael Reed.
One of her pieces — "potted plant" — a three dimensional live plant in a pot, was chosen to be part of Pro Arts' juried exhibition.
Out of 719 works "potted plant" was one of 12 works selected to be in their yearly calendar.
In January "Orixa and Her Disciples" and "Three Sisters With Boat" were selected to be in the exhibit — "What We Think of Ourselves" — at the Center for Visual Art in Oakland.
Innis works in a variety of mediums.
Bright colors and expressive facial features are characteristic of Innis' work. She would like to see her work translated to designs on album covers and shower curtains or mouse pads.
"I think many artists don't think art should be a business," she said.
"I want to have more functional use for my work. Instead of waiting to sell originals, I want to sell the images.
Innis has already come up with mousepads and other items that carry her images and is working on new ideas all the time.
"There are a million things that need images. The Kleenex box needs an image," she said.
"I want to stay home and work and create my art."
Innis knows she has to be able to make enough money at it to do that.
Editors' note: To view Innis' work go to Showcase.

The Landmark Society will hold its annual members' Christmas party on Wednesday, Dec. 15.
For further information contact Chris Goodier at 772-0598.