Dozens of people who attended a meeting to talk about how St. John could affect a new VI Constitution ended up hearing complaints from native and Caribbean-born residents that they don’t have opportunities.

"The bottom line is we have some racial problems," Monique Matthias told the Island Council Planning Committee session at the Legislature building.  She and other locals complained that the Committee’s work was excluding them, and they didn’t like it, according to a report published by the St. John Source. 

Matthias said vacation villas include advertisements only for restaurants like the Lime Inn, owned by mainland transplants.  She claimed, "There’s no card for Uncle Joe’s Barbecue," a Cruz Bay eatery known and loved by locals as well as visitors. Grasshopper Pickering said locals can’t get jobs in restaurants and shops.  Another woman said that with commercial space rents going for thousands of dollars a month, she has no chance to sell baskets.

The Committee had hoped the meeting would generate information to create a draft document related to the Constitutional Convention scheduled for 2006.  However, after several hours of discussion, the Source reported,  "The people at the meting voted to scrap (that idea).  It remains unclear how the project will proceed."

A rate hike included in bills from the Water and Power Authority has been canceled.  The Public Services Commission said a charge for increased fuel costs could not be justified, according to a report by the Virgin Islands Daily News.  A consultant with the Commission, Jim Madan, called the hike "an enormous increase."  He said material supporting it included a "substantial amount of computational errors."  WAPA has the authority to raise rates when it expects fuel costs to rise.  But, the executive director of the agency, Alberto Bruno-Vega, conceded he expects oil prices will be dropping.  The PSC said it will review WAPA’s calculations at its meeting in January.  The agency estimated that the average residential and commercial bill would increase $6 and $15.

An earthquake measured at 4.5 on the Richter Scale by the Puerto Rico Seismic Network shook the islands Saturday.  Termed a "felt event", the Network’s report said "this moderate earthquake was felt in all of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."  Its  center was about 27 miles north of Tortola, 14 miles beneath the surface of the earth.  Posters at USVI-On-Line said the quake lasted about 20 seconds, while resident Dennis Demar told the St. John Source he thought it was more like 40 seconds.  "Eric" reported feeling earth move at Mongoose Junction, but just a bit, "a slight vibration," he said.  In Coral Bay, resident Brad Felmly said, "We felt it strongly.  It sounded like a freight train coming through. It shook and rattled everything but there is no apparent damage."