Maho Bay

The first step toward an accountable ticketing and records system has been taken at the Red Hook ferry terminal. 

Machine-generated tickets are being sold for the ride across the Sound to Cruz Bay.  Then they are scanned at the entrance to the dock.  Eventually, turnstiles will be installed and they will get the tickets after scanning.  For now, it's a human collecting the billets.

According to a report of the ticketimng system's pilot phrase, the St. John Source said St. John's two ferry companies formed a new company to handle the system.  Ticket sellers and scanners will, this means, work for the new company and not the ferry operators, as is now the case.

The Public Service Commission welcomes the ticketing system. The Source quoted Keithley Joseph, a PSC Director, saying data from the ticket system will help the Commission when it considers fare hike requests from the ferry companies.

• Read the St. John Source story by clicking here.

One picture is worth a thousand words, as island photographer Bob Schlesinger often proves.

"Probably the largest light show on St. John is back on in Cruz Bay," Bob posted on his Facebook page.

Roseanne Perkins commented that she recognizes the house.  It's in Centerline Road, just before Pastory as you come up the hill out of Cruz Bay.  Note that Santa is on the second floor porch, waving.

If there was any question, there isn't now.

Three months ago, Pierre Dulaine and developers of the Pond Bay resort announced a program of dance classes for the island's fifth graders.  Last weekend, it was graduation time.

Dulaine, founder of the American Ballroom Dance Studio, hosted the 'finals,' a ballroom dance competition at the St. John Westin.  The evening was called St. John's first annual Colors of the Rainbow Team Match and it brought out a huge crowd of watchers and a talented group of dancers.

One person on the sidelines said the evening "wildly popular with the largest cross collection or mix of island demographics that I’ve seen at any single indoor island event."

The Inquiring Iguana offers many kudos to Dulaine and his instructors who ran the classes from September to December; to Pond Bay and its developer Bob Emmett for funding the project, and to the students and their parents and loved ones for their focus, hard work and energy.

Click on any image to see a larger version.

The photos were made available by Bob Schlesinger, a photographer who specializes in family gatherings and weddings. He says he delivers "Extraordinary images with an island flair!" His Web site is www.TropicalFocus.com)

• Here's our original story about the kickoff of the Dulaine classes.

Colorado State University weather researchers say there is a better than a 50/50 chance a 'major hurricane" will make landfall in the Caribbean next year; 63% to be exact.

Phil KlotzbachWilliam Gray also say there is a 64% chance  a big one will hit the coastline of the US.

"We anticipate the current El Nino event to dissipate by the 2010 hurricane season and warm sea temperatures are likely to continue being present in the tropical and North Atlantic … conditions that contribute to an above-average season," they said in their annual forecast.Overall the storm researchers expect 2010 will be a year with above-average activity, with as many as 16 named storms and half of them possibly becoming hurricanes.  Last year's forecast from the tropical Meteorology Project was essentially the same; as many as 14 named storms, a 63% chance one would hit the US coast and "above average major landfall hurricane risk in the Caribbean." 

There were nine named storms last year and only two hurricanes.  none hit the US coast. "Activity in 2009 was reduced considerably due largely to the moderate El Niño event that developed," Gray and Klotzbach said.

And we all know how that turned out.  Let's hope they're wrong again.

• The 2010 forecast: http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/
• Figure courtesy of Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com)

Even as stimulus program dollars are paying for long-needed
repair work on Gifft Hill and South Shore road, there are more coming. 
Gov. John de Jongh said multi-billion dollar appropriations
bill just passed by Congress is worth $33 million for Virgin islands projects.

The Inquiring Iguana is pretty focused on St. John and scoured the legislation for what it means directly for the island.

• $200,000 for the acquisition of a refurbished passenger ferry for St. John
• $3.25 million for acquisition of land at Maho Bay and Hawksnest Bay for the National Park.

Other provisions in the bill provide for some new buses for Vitran and  a new 911 emergency communications center.

The Governor said he is "enormously grateful."