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on-stjohn

New tax on airfare to the Virgin Islands?

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The company responsible for providing cargo, baggage and technical services at the St. Thomas airport is not happy. 

Faced with the continuing poor baggage belts and an "unreliable infrastructure", a spokeswoman for Worldwide Flight Services raises an interesting issue on behalf of her co-workers. (Photo via William Hartz' Flickr account.)

"Many in the airlines and airport community would like to see an accounting of what the Passenger Facilities Charge (PFC) has been used for," Joanne Bohr said to the St. John Source.  She reacted to word the Port Authority wants to increase the PFC from $3 to $4.50 per passenger.

Those funds, she said, are supposed to be used for projects approved by the airlines to improve the experience of using the airport. "The PFCs are not intended for overhead or salary," she said, implying the Authority may have been tapping the fund for operations rather than repairs and improvements.

"As difficult as it may be for the passenger," she continued, "it is a much bigger hardship for those that work in the airport … without … bag belts, (and) without any air conditioning."

Before the Authority can increase the fee, which would apply to both inbound and outbound tickets the Federal Aviation Administration must give its approval.  And presumably the FAA won't do that unless the airlines agree, and believe, the money will be used to pay for improving the St. Thomas and St. Croix airport.

Some people have a good, good time waiting at STT.

New Cruz Bay marina would handle 100 boats

Slide If Paul Devine's suggestion for developing Cruz Bay come to pass, visitors would see a boardwalk from the Creek to the parking lot across from the Post office, as well as a walkway around the Cruz Bay beach.

Devine, director of the St. John Community Foundation, would also like to see the existing ferry dock doubled in length and 'finger piers' added to accommodate privately-owned boats.  He'd also like to see public bathrooms, showers and storage areas added to the existing ticketing building to accommodate sailors.

Another of his ideas would be to eliminate vendors in Cruz Bay (Powell) Park, across from the ferry dock, and the center of town.  That would be needed to "clear the way for improvements."

Devine presented these ideas, and others, at the recent Town Meeting on the future of the island's waterfront.  You can read his full comments by clicking this: Waterfront Plan Narrative

  • More about Paul Devine: here
  • St. John Community Foundation Web site: sjcf.org

Real estate: villas ARE selling

Forsale

Six months' results do not a year make, but there's something for both optimists and pessimists in St. John real estate sales for the first six months of the year. 

Transactions listed on the RE/MAX Island Paradise Realty Web site show 13 homes changed hands between January and June. If you annualize that number, this is about a 15% increase in units.  Land sales show the same kind of extrapolated growth with 10 deals in the first six months compared to about 24 in all of 2009.

(It's only fair to point out that RE/MAX's sales history differs from that of Cruz Bay Realty's. The latter shows one more villa and two more land sales.)

Pricing, however, for both homes and land is soft.  The average final asking price for a home in the first half of the year was $1.8 million, while the average selling price was $1.563 million, a decrease of 14.5%.  A similar story with land sales; average asking price of $368 thousand and a selling price of $305 thousand, a nearly 17% discount.

The inventory of homes for sale has been steady at about 145 properties, according to the Multiple Listing Service.  It's a good bet, however, that some villa owners would like to sell but just don't feel it makes sense to put their house on the market in a, shall we say 'soft' economy.

Sundown for Baked in the Sun

St_john_bakery_01 Soon there will be no cake for you, or scrumptious sandwiches, from one of the island's best bakeries. 

Located on the third floor of the Marketplace, the owner of Baked in the Sun confirms that "as of today we are closing Oct. 16th."

But says Kim Edwards, "Nothing is decided or final," and she even holds out the idea of reopening after "some time off with my family … spend(ing) some time sailing in the Caribbean."

News of the closing traveled quickly on the Trip Advisor forum.

WishIWasintheVI spoke for many, commenting, "It's a shame, as they have rave reviews  and I hate to see any business close…and leaves me at a loss for a cake for my daughters(and both my parents) birthday and my vow renewal unless I want to pay a fortune from Katilady or St. John Cakes, etc."  STTresident was more philosophical; "It's sad but so the islands turn. Businesses come and businesses go and only the very strong survive!"

Baked was listed for sale in April of 2007 with an asking price  of $450,000.  Edwards said one of the current employees "is considering buying the business."

2011 Blues Festival – Twice as Nice

2011_StJohnBluesFestival Steve Simon, Blues Boss of the world-renowned Johnnie Walker St. John Blues Festival proudly says this year's festival will have two nights of celebrity concerts in the Coral Bay Ball Field.

The two 'star studded shows" will play Friday evening, March 18th, and Saturday evening, March 19th.
 
Friday evening will feature Grady Champion and his band, Candye Kane and Blind Pig Records recording artist Albert Cummings.
 
And then taking the stage at 8:00 pm on Saturday evening will be Telarc recording artists Moreland & Arbuckle, the "Queen of Memphis" Reba Russell and her band and the man who inspired John Belushi to create the Blues Brothers, Curtis Salgado and his Big Band.

Tickets will go on sale right after the 1st of the year and will be available on St. John at Connections in Cruz Bay, Connections in Coral Bay, Chelsea Drugs in the Marketplace and on St. Thomas at Chelsea Drugs in Red Hook.
 
Advance tickets are $25 for each night or $45 for a two night pass.  Tickets purchased at the gate will be $30 each night.  All children under 16 are admitted free.
 
There will be $5 safari taxi rides to the Coral Bay Ball Field from the Cruz Bay passenger ferry dock and from the Coral Bay Ball Field to the Cruz Bay passenger ferry dock all night long both evenings.

The 9th Annual Johnnie Walker St. John Blues Festival is brought to you by Johnnie Walker, The Lumberyard Complex, Merchants Commercial Bank, the U.S.V.I Department of Tourism, Rotary of St. John, The Gifft Hill School, Shipwreck Landing Restaurant, Rhumblines, The Beach Bar, Sun Dog Cafe, Jeff & Bonnie Simon and Steve and Helen Simon.

The Inquiring Iguana encourages you to make your plans to stay at his Blue Tang villa while you're sampling the Festival and the island's joys.

Christmas (shopping) in July

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

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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.

 

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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