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Christmas (shopping) in July

World class photographer Steve Simonsen says his calendar for 2011 is a "Limited Edition ."

STJ-Cover1d

It may very well be that previous years' have also been limited, but something tells the Inquiring Iguana this one is going to be really collectible.

On Simonsen's Facebook page, he's been experimenting with fine art photography and has some stunning images.  Wouldn't be surprised to see some of the arty-farty in the calendar for 2011.

Janet, the photog's much better half, says she'll ship the calendars in October.Order now so they know how many to print. $23.50 for one, Priority Mail shipping included, two for $42.

You can order the calendar here: web.me.com/ssimonsen/Store/Calendars.html

Even St. Johnians get a V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

It's that time of year when the number of visitors decreases and business owners feel they can afford to take advantage of the chance to get off the rock. 

For example, Ella Anderson, owner of the St. John Sun Times, is taking a summer vacation.  In the latest issue of her magazine/newspaper, she explained, "It's all numbers.  We depend on advertising … and when our clients are not doing well, we don't do well."

Anderson talked about the facts-of-St-John-life, running a business in a seasonal economy, at a recent Rotary meeting, "So," she wrote, "I'm opting to accept the current situation.  We will be back, better than ever, in October."

Several articles from the Sun Times' Travel Issue are
available here.

St. John marina plan underway

Several St. John business people have formed a corporation called Love City Marina. They hope to create a new Virgin Islands marina at Enighed Pond, the commercial port which is used by the island's car ferries.

St. John resident Steve Black announced his intention during this week's Town Meeting about development options for the Cruz Bay waterfront.

Love City Marina In a prepared statement, Black pointed out that, "There is not one place on St. John, where a boater can come in, tie up, to have a meal at a restaurant, do shopping, or do provisioning for their boat," he asked. "St. John offers no services for boaters and this must change."

"While the BVI’s have become successful, we have become known for our neglect of boaters.  Our island’s businesses get nothing from boaters, the Port Authority gets no fees for their coffers, and an entire economy is lost to somewhere else.  Why should St. John be the only island in the Caribbean without a marina?" He added, "We have some engineers and architects to further design this
project.

Block's testimony included submission of a number of artists conceptual drawings and sketches of the possibilities for Cruz Bay development.  You can see them here (courtesy of Black).

Black offered no further details about prospects for a marina, but he had lots of other ideas including:

  • Dedicating the the Customs Parking Lot to ferry pick up and drop off use.
  • Creating sidewalks on both sides of the road from Nature's Nook to Mongoose.
  • Developing a Vendors Village at Enighed Pond to include markets for fish, meat, and vegetables
  • Building an amphitheater that could be used for special events and the St. John Festival/Carnival.
  • Read Steve Black's prepared statement. Click here.

Waterfront plea: ‘Not like St. Thomas’

Nearly a dozen ideas for developing the Cruz Bay waterfront, from the Creek to the harbor were discussed at Town Meeting Monday Night. 

About 125 people turned out for the session sponsored by the Island Administrator, the Chamber of Commerce, and Sen. Craig Barshinger.

 

Havensightmap

In its report of the meeting (full story here), the St. John Source said architect Robert de Jongh showed seven different plans he drew up at the request of the V.I. Port Authority.  Each included new parking and retail as well as moving the Customs building.

Some people in the audience complained that the proposals involved a lot of concrete.  One person said he didn't think Cruz Bay should look like St. Thomas' Havensight Mall, the strip shopping center where cruise ships dock.

Two St. Johnians, Steve Black and Paul Devine, offered their own thoughts on\waterfront redevelopment. They both urged that there be marinas

La deluge at Cinnamon Bay

Many photographers run when they get caught in rainy weather.  Not Steve Simonsen, the internationally-known Caribbean image maker.

So when a ‘vigorous’ tropical wave passed through the VIs Tuesday, bringing torrents, Simonsen got going.  Even though, he says, five inches of rain fell on the island during the day. One place he went was Cinnamon Bay where he recorded this video.

A “Hazardous Weather Outlook” has been issued for the next week by the National Weather Service. It warns of thunderstorms and the possibility of “urban and gut flooding.”  This means many of St. John’s bays will be turning brown from the dirt runoff caused by heavy rain.

For the next few days, things still are dicey.  Showers and thunderstorms will become scattered by Thursday with some flooding possible “in isolated locations.”

Getting around St. John

The Music Man, Professor Harold Hill, said it clearly: "You gotta know the territory."

Visitors to St. John can get confused easily, but rarely lost. After all, there are only three main roads.  To help, there are a number of maps on the Internet that can be, if not useful, at least worth a look before you step foot on the ferry dock.  Here are links to a few, and some comments.

   
Map1 St-john-map.com

    Produced by anonymous people who claim to have "A combined history of over 30 years on St. John," this is primarily a promotional vehicle for rental villas in Coral Bay.  While it does show streets and bays for the entire island, it's not very detailed or interesting.  This kind of looks like a weekend experiment seeing what could be done with Yahoo Maps.

    Virgin Islands Map

    Virgin islands Map is also promoting businesses on the island, oddly only in Cruz Bay.  There's no detailed map of Coral Bay.  It's also out of date – Chilly Billy's is gone, Grapevine Salon's at the Marketplace now, not Mongoose.  But the map does give you an overview of the kinds of the kinds of businesses there are downtown and roughly where.

    Virgin Islands On-Line Map

    This map is offered by Anthony Finta who runs Virgin-Islands-On-Line. It doesn't show streets, downtown businesses, or much of anything other than the names of the bays.  Which is not a bad thing to have.  You're not going to use this map to go shopping, but it gives you an idea of what the island looks like and where the beaches are.
   
    National Park Service

    The National Park Service's map is the biggest and most detailed we've found.  It shows beaches, ruins, mountains, bays, and more.  It's also quite detailed.  It uses Flash to display and is a little difficult to figure out how to zoom and pull out.  But best of all, the map can be printed.  As such, it's a must to bring with you.

    More maps
        http://www.stjohnusvi.com/map.html
        http://stjohnlinks.com/map.htm

What’s up on the St. John waterfront?

Stj-town-meetingIt looks like the arrival of the St. John Planner has come at just the right time as talk gets serious about how to develop the waterfront in Cruz Bay.

A Town Meeting is planned at the Westin for Monday night.

 There will be a presentation of the Cruz Bay Creek design plans by VI Port Authority and architect Robert De Jongh.  Also to be heard will be presentations of alternative plans by other individuals and groups, plus discussions about Enighed Pond development and parking.

A flier says the meeting's objective is to get "public input on what works for our waterfront."

The bill’s in the mail

The first Virgin Islands property tax bills to be issued in years have arrived in territory and stateside mailboxes.  The new bill is for 2006. 

The Tax Assessor used the same valuations for St. John as in 1998, meaning it's a bargain given the incredibly high values set from a VI-wide reassessment several years ago. 

A federal district court blocked the Virgin Islands from issuing bills based on those values. The government has been without property tax revenue for years while the court case continues.

Property owners have until Oct. 15 to pay the new bill before accruing late fees.

A second tax bill, for 2007, is likely to be issued this fall, as the Territory plays catch up. It's possible bills for 2008 and 2009, will be issued next year.

The Coral Bay Community Council spoke for many property owners, perhaps some still in shock from seeing their property values calculated as rising 400 or 500% from the unimplemented reassessment. "This is EXCELLENT short term news for St. John taxpayers — and will also allow the government to collect up to four years of much needed revenue for the infrastructure and services we all desire."

St. John Baby gear rental business opens

Moms A couple of 'island moms' think see a money-making opportunity when it comes to young families traveling to the island.  Their new business, Island Baby, is an equipment rental service aimed at the needs of babies and toddlers. 

They'll rent you a crib for $125 a week, a car seat for $50, and even beach toys like a bucket and shovel for $10/week.  The inventory list, with pricing, can be seen here.

Previously, Jayme Gottschal and Christy Beaty worked as greeters for villa rental agents.  Seeing the travails of young parents wrestling with kids and toys and luggage, they realized solving that problem with rentals might be worth a shot.

The Web site is IslandBabyVI.com.  It is not without its humor.  One of the FAQ questions concerns whether Jayme and Christy will install the rented car seats.  No, says the Web site.  For that, "You visit our local fire or police department, who can assist you with the installation."  Anyone with island experience can only smile at the thought of making that request.

One thing in Island Baby's favor is the annoying, and high, fees luggage airlines are charging.  Instead of packing things like strollers and backpacks, renting them might make economic sense.

What do you think?  Is this a good business idea?  Comment here.