Dec. 7, 2001 — The Federal Communications Commission has told St. Thomas-St. John Cable TV it must unscramble its basic cable service, rejecting the company's argument that the scrambling is a means of thwarting cable pirates and saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Caribbean Cable Corp., the name under which St. Thomas-St. John Cable TV is licensed, filed a petition for special relief asking the FCC to waive its rule against scrambling basic-service cable signals. It was a move 510 petitioners on St. Thomas and St. John, the Public Services Commission and the Attorney General's Office opposed.
The company contended that the theft of basic-tier service and costs associated with eliminating signal leakages caused by illegal connections warranted waiving the FCC rules. But in a decision a week ago the FCC's Cable Services Bureau denied the waiver.
FCC law dating from 1992 requires that cable providers refrain from scrambling basic-service signals, so as to "significantly advance compatibility by ensuring that all subscribers are able to receive basic-tier signals 'in the clear' and that basic-only subscribers with cable-ready televisions will not need set-top [unscrambling] devices." But the law also provides for waivers of the scrambling prohibition upon showing of "either a substantial problem with theft of basic-tier service or a strong need to scramble basic signals for other reasons."
The cable company stated that prior to the upgrade of its system following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when it carried all signals on a single, unscrambled service tier, "theft was a serious problem." Before the cable company began to scramble its signal, there were 523 illegal connections and 13,754 legal subscribers, it said.
Since the upgrade, the company said, theft of service has ceased. But it contended that if it were required to unscramble its 21-channel basic-tier service, it likely would once again be "victimized by large numbers of cable pirates," resulting in annual costs of more than $200,000 plus $80,000 for equipment. That additional expense, the company argued, would prevent it from providing the lowest-cost service to its subscribers.
However, at present, basic-tier subscribers must pay a monthly fee of $3.05 for a converter box, plus a refundable deposit of $45. No such converter will be needed if the signal is unscrambled.
The PSC noted that prior to the upgrade and conversion of the cable system, unauthorized users would have had access to the company's single service tier. That service has now been separated into basic and cable-tier programming, it noted. Since the FCC requires a showing of basic-tier theft to consider a waiver, the PSC said, the company's request was inadequate because it was not based solely on theft from its basic tier.
The PSC also pointed out that the company said just 6 percent of its subscribers are on basic service today. Thus, the incentive to create unauthorized connections to an unscrambled basic-only service would be "radically different" from what existed when the system offered only a single, 33-channel tier, the PSC said.
The Attorney General's Office said the cable company has a theft-of-service rate of 2.66 percent, whereas the industry average for similar-sized systems is about 10 percent. The AG's Office also said that the company had pursued legal remedies in only seven of the 523 reported incidents of unauthorized connections, two of which involved company employees. That, it argued, did not represent the type of problem that would warrant a waiver of FCC rules.
The cable company responded that the AG's Office understated the rate of theft, which the company placed at about 4.15 percent with "probably closer to 747 instances." It also said its pursuit of remedies through the Attorney General's Office were unsuccessful.
However, the FCC noted that even with the company's figures, its theft rate was still "less than half the national average." Also, it said, since the company rebuilt its distribution system at the same time it began scrambling its signal, the leaks prior to that might have been "due to the old distribution plant."

Dec. 6, 2001 – "Kick 'em Jenny," the undersea volcano located just north of Grenada, reawakened from a decade of dormancy on Saturday with earthquakes indicative of eruptions.
By Thursday morning, earthquake activity in and near the volcano had quieted considerably. But scientists feel the threat of further eruption is high, and with it the possibility of tsunami — a huge surface wave generated by such underwater activity.
The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Unit reported the largest earthquake in the present sequence as being about 3.0 on the Richter scale. The SRU also reported that this current earthquake sequence has been considerably weaker than the activity in 1990 when the last significant eruptions occurred. The UWI Seismic Research Unit web site provides updates on the volcano's activity and details of the seismic information it has received.
An Internet update at 11 a..m. Thursday included this statement: "Although eruptive activity seems to have stopped, we are maintaining the alert level at 'orange' [meaning that full eruptive activity may be resumed at very short notice] for at least another 24 hours." It added, "The premonitory earthquake swarms were more severe than any previously observed at Kick 'em Jenny … We are not yet satisfied that the eruption is over."
The statement included a chilling warning to small pleasure craft observed at update time directly over the vent of the volcano: "They should be aware that they could be killed at any moment."
For the duration of an "orange" alert, all shipping is banned from the "first exclusion zone," defined as 1.5 km., or a little less than a mile, from the summit of the volcano. In addition, all non-essential (i.e., pleasure) craft must keep clear of the "second exclusion zone," extending from the first zone to 5.0 km., or a little over 3 miles, from the summit.
The SRU, located in St. Augustine, Trinidad, has been monitoring Kick 'em Jenny for several years, assisted by a recent grant from the Caribbean Development Bank allowing for the placement of instruments to provide continuous monitoring of the volcano. The CDB funds also will support professional and technical staff and services and workshops. The grant, together with another from the U.S. Agency for International Development, also will fund a public information campaign.
Dr. John Shepherd, head of the SRU, said by telephone late Thursday that the "orange" alert will remain in place at least until 10 a.m. Friday, although there had been no eruptive activity since 11 a.m. Thursday. "The buildup to the eruption was big, very big, bigger than in 1990," he said. "The intensity of the eruption itself, however, was lesser than the 1990 event." This combination of factors has led him to keep the alert level high until there's a clear indicator that the activity has subsided indefinitely.
UVI involved in gathering volcano data
The first observed eruptions of the small volcano on the slopes arising from the Grenada Basin of the Caribbean Sea occurred in July 1939. Between then and now, Kick 'em Jenny had erupted 11 times, most recently in 1990. In between, the volcano continued to vent gases non-explosively, much like the volcanoes of Dominica and St. Lucia.
In 1988, vulcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson descended into the crater. In 1996, he described the experience at a consultation of experts on tsunamis held at the V.I. Experimental Research Station on St. John. At the gathering, sponsored by IOCARIBE, a regional subsidiary of the Intergovernmental Oceanogaphic Commission, the major marine science organization of the United Nations, Sigurdsson related how he had been observing unusual algae inside the crater when warm currents prompted him to return at once to the surface.
In 1996, a highly detailed survey by scientists from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the University of the Virgin Islands determined that the volcano's summit lay 178 meters, or about 587 feet, below the surface.
The Kick 'em Jenny image provided on the SRU web page resulted from data collected and processed through the Anegada Climate Tracers Study at UVI, headed by Roy Watlington. Since 1995, ACTS scientists and student interns have made more than a dozen Caribbean marine research trips aboard ships owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the University of Puerto Rico, gathering specific local and Caribbean data.
Shepherd said another survey trip is planned for early next year, with a NOAA ship in the area collecting data relative to climate change. "They will have sidescan sonar," he said, pleased that better equipment will be available for the survey. This, he said, will give a good measure of the distance beneath the surface of the volcano's summit.
"ACTS personnel will play a major role in this expedition to the area of Kick 'em Jenny, as they did in 1996," Watlington said.
As undersea volcano grows, so does tsunami threat
"On Nov. 18, 1867," reads a quotation from "This is Grenada" by Frances Key, published in 1971, "about five o'clock in the afternoon, the water in the harbor [in St. George's, Grenada] dropped five feet … Then the water in the harbor rose quickly to four feet over normal height and rushed up to the head of the Carenage. This happened three or four times. Much damage was done to boats and buildings."
The description is of the great tsunami of 1867 which originated in the Virgin Islands Basin and is familiar to those who have read the book "Disaster and Disruption in 1867."
Now there arises the possibility of a reverse phenomenon: Volcanic activity originating off Grenada could result in a tsunami reaching the Virgin Islands. Watlington cites a 1993 study by Shepherd and Martin Smith which predicted that a tsunami originating from Kick 'em Jenny would reach St. Croix in about 80 minutes, and the northern Virgin Islands about 10 minutes later.
The energy of a Kick 'em Jenny eruption is suppressed because of the current depth of the volcano beneath the surface. Watlington notes, "If the volcano continues to grow, more of its energy could be released, leading to the generation of tsunami waves."
Despite the warnings from scientists, disaster officials do not yet have a tsunami warning system in place throughout the Caribbean. The SRU and the Puerto Rico Seismic Network update their sites continually to provide current local information.

Editor's note: Source contributor and retired librarian Shirley Lincoln and UVI chancellor and marine science faculty member Roy Watlington compiled archival writings about the three great natural disasters that all struck the Virgin Islands in one year for publication as the book "Disaster and Disruption in 1867: Hurricane, Earthquake and Tsunami in the Danish West Indies."

Dec. 6, 2001 – Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd has called a Committee of the Whole meeting for 10 a.m. Dec. 13 to gather information on reported problems with the government's new health insurance program.
Liburd made the announcement Thursday after Sen. Carlton Dowe wrote to him on Wednesday saying that the government's insurance coverage in place since Sept. 30 is causing "unacceptable" problems to employees and doctors alike.
Citing "numerous complaints from active employees and retirees that doctors are not accepting the health insurance card issued them to receive their medical, dental and pharmaceutical benefits," Dowe asked Liburd to call a special legislative session to find out what is going on.
Liburd said Thursday that his office, too, has received numerous reports of problems from government employees. He said he has asked representatives of Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. (CIGNA), which provides medical insurance, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.(MetLife), which supplies dental coverage, to testify at the session. Also invited to appear are members of the Health Insurance Board of the Government Employees Service Commission; Thomas Robinson, chief executive officer of the territory's hospitals; Ira Mills, director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Bernice Turnbull, Finance commissioner.
About 30,000 government employees, retirees and their dependents are covered by the insurance plans.
The Senate approved the new health insurance package for government workers in a special session on Sept. 28 called by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull. The government workers' medical insurance contract in effect at the time, with Blue Cross-Blue Shield, was scheduled to expire at midnight Sept. 30 — and did so. The new contract, signed by the governor on Sept. 30, took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1.
Dowe in his letter to Liburd reminded the Senate president that at the Sept. 28 special session, "a 'gun' was put to our heads to meet a Sept. 30 deadline to ratify the contracts with the insurance companies."
The contracts had been extremely late in reaching the Senate floor. Dowe reminded Liburd Wednesday that Paulette Rabsatt, chair of the Health Insurance Board, and principals of the two insurance companies had assured the Legislature that all government employees would be covered for all health insurance benefits.
Dowe said he also understands that doctors are experiencing long delays in receiving payment for claims submitted. "On the one hand, we ask doctors to be participating members of the Health Insurance Preferred Provider Organization," he said. "And we do not pay them on a timely basis. This is unconscionable."
Telephone calls to Rabsatt and to Rolda Mason, chief of group health insurance with the Personnel Division, were not returned Thursday afternoon.

Dec. 6, 2001 – Chase Bank's J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation has announced the awarding of grants totaling $57,035 to 33 U.S. Virgin Islands not-for-profit organizations, one British Virgin Islands agency and an educational institution.
"It shows our commitment to the community," said Maria Cooper-Freeman, Chase vice president for public sector, community investment and development. She said that this is the sixth year of the program.
She declined to make public how much each organization received but said the grants ranged from $500 to $2,000.
The territory's not-for-profit groups are receiving a total of $52,000. The money is destined for a diversity of projects including youth programs focusing on smoking, violence and gang activity on the WTJX-TV show "Graffiti Street"; a program at The Village on St. Croix for mothers who are re-entering the community after substance-abuse treatment; and the contracting of a play-writing instructor at Guy Benjamin School on St. John.
Grants were made to 19 organizations on St. Thomas, 10 on St. Croix and four on St. John, in addition to the one in the B.V.I. A territory-wide grant was to the Small Business Development Center at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Dec. 6, 2001 – Montserratians "can coexist with the volcano," the island's acting governor, Sir Howard Fergus, told former residents and friends during a visit to St. Thomas over the weekend.
Speaking at a meeting of the Montserrat Association of St. Thomas-St. John at Victor's New Hideout on Saturday, Fergus described life on his island since the volcano began acting up, forcing many Montserratians to relocate. Nowadays, he said, there is both reconstruction and new building, and the nearly 5,000 people still living and working on Montserrat are looking to revive their island economically.
He said his "gut feeling" is that the spared areas will continue to be spared and will suffer only ashfall. The hard-hit Richmond Hill and Cork Hill areas will be inhabited again one day, he predicted, but "not in our lifetime."
Although scientists expect several more years of intermittent activity from the Soufriere Hills volcano, Britain is phasing out grants-in-aid beginning in 2002. This, Fergus said, will result in hardship to the homeless, the elderly and children. Montserratians are "not parasites," he said, for they came out of grant-in-aid in the 1980s. But he feels Britain must be held to its obligation.
Construction, important to the economy, is reviving, he said, and the Building Society is "coming back and paying off earlier members." Building lots have been made available at Lookout. Places are being found for the elderly and the mentally challenged. Housing loans are being made, with priority given to current residents.
Fergus, who served for 26 years as speaker of the Montserrat Legislative Council, presiding over his last session on Sept. 20, said Montserratians living abroad should try to acquire land on the island now. Many own property in what is now the forbidden zone, he noted, and the problem of compensation needs study and resolution.
The volcano eventually buried Plymouth, Montserrat's capital. The mid-island town of Salem became the social center of the island. Government services became scattered all over in available buildings but many offices eventually consolidated in the safe northern area.
There is an ambitious project to build a town –– a "new capital" – at Little Bay, Fergus said. Infrastructure including a fishing dock and a public market is planned. But while a design concept is in place, the actual work will be a while coming, he said. Ground breaking is set for a theater/cultural center, with funds raised toward that project by Sir George Martin, formerly an associate in the major recording studio that once lured many stars to the island.
Having frequently served as acting governor during his years as council speaker, Fergus has continued to do so since stepping down. He acknowledged that the list of problems Montserrat faces is long — transportation, education, health care, jobs , a lack of flat land for an airport, the need for a community college; and Montserrat is not part of the Caribbean Community's plan for free movement of workers between countries. But he said that, one by one, the hurdles can be overcome.
Fergus comes from Long Ground, the first village to be evacuated when the volcano became active in 1995-96. A resident tutor at the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies, he has written and edited more than 30 books, among them a number of poetry books including several about the volcano. He wrote a poem about Melville Cuffy, who died as a result of volcanic activity; it was published in "Volcano Song," a book sold to raise money for Montserrat relief. He also has written several West Indian historical works, including "Montserrat in the Twentieth Century: Tribulations and Triumphs," published this year.
Long a poet and historian, long a government official and legislator, he says emphatically that "I'm not a politician." Also active as a Christian, he preached at a Sunday morning service on St. Thomas.
He also was one of four special guests at an Inner Life Christian Ministries Church Women Ministry recognition service and dinner on Saturday night. The event honored four St. Thomas residents: Pastors Agnola Martin, Edwin R. White and Franklin Connor; and Maloria Hodge, president of Deeper Life Women Ministry.
Each honoree was surprised with the arrival of an off-island close friend or childhood pal. Fergus and White were boyhood chums in Montserrat and continued their friendship into their adult years. White is one of many Montserratians profiled in Fergus's collection of biographies, "Gallery Montserrat."

Dec. 6, 2001 – Montserratians "can coexist with the volcano," the island's acting governor, Sir Howard Fergus, told former residents and friends during a visit to St. Thomas over the weekend.
Speaking at a meeting of the Montserrat Association of St. Thomas-St. John at Victor's New Hideout on Sunday, Fergus described life on his island since the volcano began acting up, forcing many Montserratians to relocate. Nowadays, he said, there is both reconstruction and new building, and the nearly 5,000 people still living and working on Montserrat are looking to revive their island economically.
He said his "gut feeling" is that the spared areas will continue to be spared and will suffer only ashfall. The hard-hit Richmond Hill and Cork Hill areas will be inhabited again one day, he predicted, but "not in our lifetime."
Although scientists expect several more years of intermittent activity from the Soufriere Hills volcano, Britain is phasing out grants-in-aid beginning in 2002. This, Fergus said, will result in hardship to the homeless, the elderly and children. Montserratians are "not parasites," he said, for they came out of grant-in-aid in the 1980s. But he feels Britain must be held to its obligation.
Construction, important to the economy, is reviving, he said, and the Building Society is "coming back and paying off earlier members." Building lots have been made available at Lookout. Places are being found for the elderly and the mentally challenged. Housing loans are being made, with priority given to current residents.
Fergus, who served for 26 years as speaker of the Montserrat Legislative Council, presiding over his last session on Sept. 20, said Montserratians living abroad should try to acquire land on the island now. Many own property in what is now the forbidden zone, he noted, and the problem of compensation needs study and resolution.
The volcano eventually buried Plymouth, Montserrat's capital. The mid-island town of Salem became the social center of the island. Government services became scattered all over in available buildings but many offices eventually consolidated in the safe northern area.
There is an ambitious project to build a town –– a "new capital" – at Little Bay, Fergus said. Infrastructure including a fishing dock and a public market is planned. But while a design concept is in place, the actual work will be a while coming, he said. Ground breaking is set for a theater/cultural center, with funds raised toward that project by Sir George Martin, formerly an associate in the major recording studio that once lured many stars to the island.
Having frequently served as acting governor during his years as council speaker, Fergus has continued to do so since stepping down. He acknowledged that the list of problems Montserrat faces is long — transportation, education, health care, jobs, a lack of flat land for an airport, the need for a community college; and Montserrat is not part of the Caribbean Community's plan for free movement of workers between countries. But he said that, one by one, the hurdles can be overcome.
Fergus comes from Long Ground, the first village to be evacuated when the volcano became active in 1995-96. A resident tutor at the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies, he has written and edited more than 30 books, among them a number of poetry books including several about the volcano. He wrote a poem about Melville Cuffy, who died as a result of volcanic activity; it was published in "Volcano Song," a book sold to raise money for Montserrat relief. He also has written several West Indian historical works, including "Montserrat in the Twentieth Century: Tribulations and Triumphs," published this year.
Long a poet and historian, long a government official and legislator, he says emphatically that "I'm not a politician." Also active as a Christian, he preached at a Sunday morning service on St. Thomas.
He also was one of four special guests at an Inner Life Christian Ministries Church Women Ministry recognition service and dinner on Saturday night. The event honored four St. Thomas residents: Pastors Agnola Martin, Edwin R. White and Franklin Connor; and Maloria Hodge, president of Deeper Life Women Ministry.
Each honoree was surprised with the arrival of an off-island close friend or childhood pal. Fergus and White were boyhood chums in Montserrat and continued their friendship into their adult years. White is one of many Montserratians profiled in Fergus's collection of biographies, "Gallery Montserrat."

Dec. 6, 2001 – The parents and guardians of students attending the Claude O. Markoe Elementary School's PTA at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, will be entertained by the school's choir. It will be held in the school's cafetorium. There will be refreshments.

Parents and guardians of students attending the next Claude O. Markoe Elementary PTA will be entertained by the school's chior.
It will be held in the cafetorium from 6 to 7 p.m.

The Housing Authority advises residents and the general public that the central and community offices on St. Croix will be closed on Friday to enable employees to attend workshops and the annual employee recognition awards ceremony.
In case of an emergency contact Gertrudes Restaurant at 778-8362.

Dec. 6, 2001 – The Housing Authority advises residents and the general public that the central and community offices on St. Croix will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, to enable employees to attend workshops and the annual employee recognition and awards ceremony.
In case of an emergency contact Gertrudes Restaurant, 778-8362.