You may be headed to the island, but you’re not going to get away from it all.
Domino Oil stations on St. Thomas increased the price of a gallon of gasoline 37 cents in the past week, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News. The company’s station in Coral Bay posted a price of $3.89 a gallon this week, the newspaper added.
You can bet taxi drivers are feeling the increase. Anybody want to bet whether the drivers might hike fares (a fuel surcharge) with or without approval from the government?
A Senator who voted in favor of the rezoning for Sirensa is reportedly on his way to the island Thursday to do some fact finding.
An e-mail from the St. John Coalition, which is opposed to expanding the condominium project, alerted members that Sen. Ronald Russell was expected on St. John and that he "Would like to meet with interested persons concerning Sirenusa." The staffer also encouraged calls to the Senator during this Saturday morning talk show (9:20 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., eastern) on WSTX AM 970 (Listen here: http://www.wstxam.com/.)
The Coalition has been trying to motivate anti-Sirenusa publicity by encouraging calls to radio talk shows and letters to island publications. "The Sirenusa override vote (may) be on Tuesday, May 29th," the Coalition said. The group’s e-mail added, "We want the … project to be competed, as permitted by … current permits. We are not blocking the completion, rather encouraging it."
The boys at the Tap Room have been cooking something up, for months: Island Summer Ale. It’s on island now.
"It is a light refreshing summer beer perfect for our Caribbean climate," said Chirag Vyas (aka Cheech) and Kevin Chipman, owners of two-year-old St. John Brewers. "It’s a recipe we’ve had in our files for a long time, and it just seemed right."
The beer is produced under contract by Shipyard Brewing in Portland, Maine and then shipped by container. "They brew to our recipe, and don’t change a thing," Vyas added. The first cases of "Island Summer Ale" were cleared through Customs in the past week.
The brewers, who also own the Tap Room, worked about six weeks in their brewing room at Mongoose Junction to get the blend right. "We went well after midnight some nights," Vyas added, "It gets pretty hot in there with all the burners going."
Distribution of the new brew is underway now and a "launch party" on a beach is planned.
In this week’s St. John Podcast, Cheech and Kevin talking about developing their second beer in two years.
To listen on your computer, click the play button below.
You can also download or hear the file by clicking here.
Subscribe to News of St. John’s weekly podcast at the Apple iTunes Store and search for "news of st. john,"
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that link to subscribe with other podcatching software. If you’re having
a problem, e-mail: [email protected].
The government said Tuesday afternoon this will be a hurricane season that is more active than usual.
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration forecast three to five major storms in the Atlantic Ocean region. The average is two majors. "This hurricane season, from what we can see at this time, has all the
ingredients for being a difficult season," said Warren Isom, senior
vice president at Willis Re, the reinsurance unit of insurance broker Willis Group, according toMarketWatch.Full story.
The graphic, at left, is the track of last fall’s Hurricane Ernesto.
The owners of a shop on St. John have waited four years to be able to use their business’s checking account.
In a chronicle of the travail, the St. John Sun Times reports the (unnamed) bank’s policies required multiple forms of identification, completion of forms and then more forms, and when the bank changed owners, the process seemed to start over. (It’s probably FirstBank, which was sold by Chase.) The objective of getting the wife’s name on the checking account was also complicated by a branch in St. Thomas refusing to accept the bank’s own paperwork, government employees who lost records and a misaddressed "Letter of Existence" that took six weeks to arrive.
"The wife felt a fit coming on," the Sun Times’Phyllis Benton wrote. Which, to me, makes the woman sound either line an angel or comatose. What patience!
Now, the wife says she’s gone to a "cash economy." Please, no checks. She said, “It’s just that I don’t get to the bank much anymore, and when I do, it’s like that movie, Groundhog Day; the same things keep happening over and over again."
The fourth annual island Power Swim is scheduled for 8 a.m., Sunday, May 27.
Organized by the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park, there are four races including three contests for solo swimmers and one for a relay team. The individual
courses range from one to three-and-a-half miles, while the three-person relay is three-and-a-half miles. All begin at Maho Bay. The long route ends at Hawksnest Bay.
In a practice swim two weeks ago, the nationally ranked swimmer Jack Zakim finished first on a Maho to Trunk Bay course. Another practice was scheduled over the past weekend.
"The event has become part of the list of challenging sporting events inn the Virgin Islands," said JoeKessler, president of the Friends. "It features the incredible waters and beaches of the Park."
Sponsors of the Friends fund raiser this year include Alfredo’s landscaping, Mongoose Junction, American Paradise Realty, St. John Insurance, Skinny Legs, the Tap Room, Starfish Market and St. John Rotary.
Winners in the various competition categories will get their awards during an end-of-day barbecue at Oppenheimer Beach. There is more information online at www.friendsvinp.org/swim.
The Texaco station is to be closed at the end of June. Robert O’Connor, the owner, doesn’t agree with the decision, according to the St. John Source. He told the newspaper he thinks the Dept. of Public Works is over-estimating how much land it needs to build a traffic roundabout to ease congestion, the reason for shutting the station.
A portion of land where day laborers gather to wait for work, at Boulon Center, will also be absorbed for the project. Albert Willis, owner of the center, told the Source it doesn’t make any sense for him to fight the government about the land taking.
Published reports about the closing did not indicate when construction of the roundabout will begin. Doing the work in the summer makes sense, but it’s likely not to be complete in time for next winter’s tourist season. That means traffic problems probably will get worse before they get better.
Last week it was the mosquitoes, this week it’s the desert dust.
Paradise hasn’t been too pleasant recently because of it all. The flying pests have been breeding overtime, thanks to the heavy rains of late April. Now dust from the Sahara (yes, truly!) is being blown across the ocean and reducing visibility. It’s also increasing medical problems for people with allergies and asthma, the VI health Department’s Dr. Audria Thomas told the St. John Source. A Weather Service analyst said the worst is probably over and things will improve this weekend.
Kayre Carney, at Islandia Real Estate, used her Web log to comment about it, too. She said it hasn’t really been clear since Monday.
The V.I. government is promising that arriving at the St. Thomas airport is going to be less stressful and more welcoming. The new commissioner of Tourism, Beverly Nicholson Doty, told a travel industry publication one of her top initiatives will be to improve the "arrival experience at the airport and all ports of entry."
The gauntlet of porters, sometimes-working baggage belts, and taxi drivers was the major complaint ofNews of St. John readers reacting to comments by Berkeley Young of Randall Travel Marketing about how tourists are treated. (Part one, Part two).
Doty also told Travel Weekly she intends to redesign the territory’s USVItourism.vi Web site. She has also launched a new one, admittedly with not much to it, at usvi-ideas.com/. She’s encouraging people to comment and offer ideas how the islands’ tourism business can improve.
Gary Moses is trying a second time to give somebody else a second chance.
Later this month, he will launch an essay contest in which the prize is his five-year-old Mixology Warehouse. The entrance fee is $100, and each 100-word essay will be reviewed by a three judges.
"They’ll get an operating business, fully stocked, money in the cash
drawer, and four months’ rent paid in advance," Moses explained.
"This is a good opportunity for somebody who wants to start fresh," Moses said. "Somebody who feels they can’t go any further in the job where they are now." His motivation is also that of a person who wants to do good, who feels that after 19 years on the island it’s time to enjoy life while giving somebody else a chance. He suggests entrants be familiar with the films "Pay it Forward" and "Spitfire Grill" to appreciate what he’s trying to achieve.
The Mixology Warehouse is in downtown Cruz Bay, near the Lumberyard shopping center. It does a retail business in beer, liquor and wine, wholesales to island restaurants and makes deliveries to villas for parties, weddings and other events.
If all goes well, the Warehouse could have a new owner by October. Moses will accept essays, only from mainland residents, for 90 days. He hopes to attract 10,000 entrants. The minimum is 9,000. The judges will take 30 days to make their decision.
Moses ran a similar essay contest for the business last year, but it didn’t draw enough interest. He blames himself for not marketing it well and says he’ll do better this time. "This is Gary’s retirement plan, too," he explained.
After 19 years on island, and having started three businesses (including Noah’s Little Arks and the Banana Deck," Moses said it’s time to go sailing. But he already has plans for another venture which he describes as an "eco camp" on another island. "On 10 acres, with nine little huts. We’ll run it six months a year, and then Gary can go play for six months."
In this week’s St. John Podcast, Moses explains how you can win a business on St. John.
To listen on your computer, click the play button below.
You can also download or hear the file by clicking here.
Subscribe to News of St. John’s weekly podcast at the Apple iTunes Store and search for "news of st. john,"
or copy "http://fbarnako.libsyn.com/rss" and paste it into the "Subscribe" field under the iTunes software’s "Advanced" tab. You can also use
that link to subscribe with other podcatching software. If you’re having
a problem, e-mail: [email protected].
