The children's parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 30 at Rothschild Francis Square and move on to Lionel Roberts stadium.
For expanded Carnival information, including a link to the Carnival ‘99 website, go to Community Section- Subsection – Etc.

Carnival Village 1999 opens Monday, April 26. It will be called "Champagne's Court" in honor of William "Champagne"Chandler, who has been crowned Carnival's "King of the
Band" several years in a row.
For expanded Carnival information, including a link to the Carnival ‘99 website, go to Community Section- Subsection – Etc.

The V.I. Music Fest will be extended this year to two nights to accommodate the growing number of bands who want to participate. The festival of sound will continue on Saturday, April 10 at Lionel Roberts Stadium.
For expanded Carnival information, including a link to the Carnival ‘99 website, go to Community Section- Subsection – Etc.

The V.I. Music Fest will be extended this year to two nights to accommodate the growing number of bands who want to participate. The festival of sound will start on Friday, April 9 and continue on Saturday, April 10 at Lionel Roberts Stadium.
For expanded Carnival information, including a link to the Carnival ‘99 website, go to Community Section- Subsection – Etc.

This year's carnival celebration named "Going back in time for Carnival ‘99" will begin on April 9 and run through May 1. See the St. Thomas Source Community Calendar for dates of specific events.
You can also look here under "Carnival 1999 Gearing Up" to link directly to the the carnival website.

One of the first items on the agenda of the incoming Legislature will be compulsory automobile coverage for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
There are many misconceptions about the law and how it affects the people of the territory. A brief explanation of the personal automobile policy and how the proposed legislation will apply is as follows.
The Personal Automobile Policy is basically four different areas of insurance.
The first part provides third-party liability coverage for damage to property of others or bodily injury or death of another person.
The limits of liability are usually split limits. In the case of the proposed legislation, the limits are $10,000 per person/ $20,000 per accident for bodily injury and $10,000 per accident for property damage.
This is the only part of the policy which is addressed in the proposed law.
The rates that the domestic insurance companies currently charge have not changed since 1984. The rates currently charged are in the following range: $277 for St. Thomas, $196 for St. John and $319 for St. Croix. The disparity in rates is due to the frequency or severity of accidents on each island.
The second part of the policy is an optional coverage. When purchased, it provides reimbursement of medical bills for the insured and members of their family that live in the same house, and any passenger in the insured vehicle. The insured and their family are also covered while passengers in someone else's vehicle or as a pedestrian.
The third part of the policy is also an optional coverage. It is called uninsured motorist coverage and it protects the insured and their family members against bodily injury which is caused by an automobile accident with a vehicle that does not have proper insurance and the operator of that vehicle is legally responsible for the accident.
The fourth and final part provides coverage for damage to the insured's vehicle. This section is split into two parts: (1) collision, which covers impact with another car or object. (2) other than collision, which covers basically everything else that happens to the car.
If the whole car is stolen, the company will pay $10 per day for 30 days for a rental car. This payment starts 48 hours after the theft and stops upon recovery of the vehicle or the end of the 30 days.
It is this section that causes all of the confusion regarding the cost of automobile insurance, as the premiums for this section are based upon the value of the vehicle and range anywhere from $400 to $2,479 per car. The wide range is also due to the difference in repair costs on the three islands.
One important thing to remember is the cost of the insurance mandated by the law is less than $1 per day.
If you are involved in an accident, in which you are at fault, then you are personally liable to the other party for the repairs to their car and any injuries that they may sustain.
If you are involved in an accident in which are not at fault and you do not have collision coverage, then you are personally liable for the repairs to your car.
However, with compulsory insurance, the other party's insurance company will pay for the repair to your car.
The insurance industry has hoped that the Legislature would pass a compulsory insurance bill that was acceptable to the industry. The bill that was submitted last session met with the approval of the industry and was basically drafted by them. It was defeated on the floor of the Legislature because most of the senators just did not understand that we are talking a cost of about a $1 a day for most households to insure their vehicles.
As long as the senators understand the true cost of the insurance, they will find that they probably have the support of the automobile owners on their Islands.
Many of the automobile and taxi owners are tired of having to pay to repair their own vehicles. If they happen to have full coverage, then they only have to pay the deductible, but this can range from $250 to $1,000.
If the insurance company sues the other individual and succeeds, then the injured party is able to recoup their deductible. Otherwise, that money is gone.
Repair facilities should also welcome compulsory insurance, as it will mean more business for them and the insurance company will pay them.
Everyone should lobby their senators to get the bill passed.

Hazelle Goodman, the well known actress and comedienne who addressed the W.O.W.(Wider Opportunities for Women) Conference in St. Thomas last October, will return to the Reichhold Center for the Arts for "A Night of Laughter & Love.
"Tickets are available at Modern Music ( all locations), Chicco's (in Wheatley Shopping Center), Krystal & Gifts Galore (Tutu Park Mall), Color of Joy (Red Hook) and the Reichhold Center Box Office.
Tickets are $40 for covered section , $20 for mid-section seating and $15 for general admission.
For details about Hazelle and the concert see "Things To Do" section of St. Thomas Source.

Ralph Blanchard, independent aviation consultant and president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Airways, is once again asking the local government and the private sector to consider developing their own tourist airline.
Blanchard, who began his crusade more than 13 years ago, is in the territory this week talking to key people about the plan.
He thinks he has the support of the new administration He points to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's statement in the latter's State of the Territory address that "the time might be right to explore the feasibility of the government investing in an airline."
But acting Tourism Commissioner Clement "Cain" Magras is less enthusiastic about direct government funding.
"We must minimize the government's role," Magras told the Source. "We don't want a government airline. What we want is an airline that is designated an official Virgin Islands airline — with affordable prices."
Blanchard said he needs to raise $10 million to provide daily service from two cities, Miami and Newark. Two 727 jets would provide 109,000 additional seats a year, a 30 percent increase over current seating capacity.
Blanchard wants a contribution from the government of a little more than $2 million. That would show government willingness to "aggressively" market the territory as a vacation destination, Blanchard said.
Despite Magras' reluctance to directly involve the government, he met Wednesday with Blanchard to discuss securing investment money from a combination of quasi-government agencies and outside capitalists.
There is speculation one of those agencies may be the West Indian Co. Edward Thomas, president of WICO, suggested last December that WICO and the Port Authority, two major revenue generators, could assist the government by jointly subsidizing an airline.
Thomas said that there still is a possibility that WICO could assist with "startup" money, and that he and Blanchard have met.
Nick Pourzal, managing director of Marriott's Frenchman's Reef, the biggest hotel here, said he has long supported the idea of a territory airline. "It is more important than advertising," Pourzal said. "I've got a half-page ad in the New York Times and I've seen no pickup in reservations for February."
The airlines currently are charging $800 to $1,000 for a round-trip seat, according to Pourzal.
"It is time we reaize we are an airline-seat economy," he said. "In the years when we had reasonably priced seats available, hotel sales were good. Now that we don't, sales are down."
Blanchard declined to say how much his airline would charge passengers, except to say the fares would be "awfully good, intended to draw people to the territory."

How much is enough?
Thursday evening the St. Thomas pharmacists held a public meeting at the Roy L. Schneider Community Hospital to bring their cause to the public.
It appears the V.I. government is forcing the pharmacists to take third-party pay cards for medications, while the third-party payer is reimbursing them less than cost.
In other words, Virgin Islands pharmacists are being forced into being charitable institutions.
The pharmacists brought together a most interesting mix of players in this high-stakes game. There were several representatives of the Legislature, the special assistant to the governor, head of the Insurance Board, representative of the attorney general, commissioner of Health, president of one of the labor unions, president of a major insurance carrier, two representatives of the major third-party payer (PCS) and most of the pharmacists practicing on island.
According to the pharmacists, they are being paid wholesale cost less a percentage plus a small fee. This amount, however, is less than it costs the pharmacist for the medication, supplies and equipment necessary to dispensing, overhead of plant and personnel and government tax.
The insurance company representative claims he was unaware of a problem, and the pharmacists were to negotiate with him at any time. The union rep claims the pharmacists can negotiate with any carrier any time they want to in an attempt to raise reimbursement.
The legislative representative claims the problem is with the negotiated reimbursement rate, not the legislation. The Health commissioner stated he was just there to listen and learn; but went on to claim the right of physicians to dispense drugs if they so desired.
The pharmacists claimed their negotiations resulted in a declaration they could either toe the line, or they would not be reimbursed anything. On the other hand, the pharmacists are being told if they do not have an agreement with a third-party payer for payment, they would have to fill all orders anyway and would not be compensated in any form.
While I am sure we all feel the pharmacists should be able to make some profit to keep them interested in providing the service, there was yet no discussion of scale economies, handling costs between the manufacturer and point of sale, and why the third-party payers felt justified with their stand.
After several hours of spirited discussion, Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus called for a sit-down meeting of key people Feb. 22. Everyone finally agreed this was the only real solution, the key figures agreed to attend and the meeting was adjourned.
I hope that in the near future I will get my full prescription for 90 days locally and will not have to go off-island for my medications.

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull will begin next week to make decisions about how to reduce the government’s expenses. Those decisions are likely to involve cutting personnel.
Juel Molloy, Turnbull's chief of staff, said since personnel is where the government spends most of its money, that's where it must start in cutting costs, according to the Daily News.
Contracts for future projects and leases for government offices will also come under scrutiny. A provision in government contracts allows for discontinuation if funds aren't available to meet the contract's terms.
Molloy said it was clear “this government committed itself way beyond its ability to pay.”